We aimed goods train: Maoists

Kolkata, May 31: Naxal backed People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) admitted that they were behind the sabotage. But added that they never aimed civilians. Their target was police personnel or goods trains.

PCPA leader Bapi Mahato told this to the newspaper The Indian Express that on that day of attack the organisation was targeting goods train and not passenger train. Mahato apologised for the attack on Howrah-Kurla Lomanya Tilak Gyaneshwari Super Deluxe Express train near Jhargram on Friday 28 May, 2010.

"We're sorry. We never wanted these innocent civilians to die. Trust me, we targeted the goods train. But somehow, we were fed wrong information that the goods train would cross through this track and we removed pandrol clips from a long stretch. We didn't want to harm civilians. There must have been some miscalculation," Mahato to The Indian Express.

Police told last week that, it is Umakanto Mahato and Bapi Mahato planned and executed the derailment of the Gyaneshwari Express train.

The duo with the help of some disgruntled PCPA cadres abducted a railway lineman Dayaram Mahato posted at Sardiha station from his house at about 9:30 PM on Thursday night after threatening him and his family. The PCPA leaders warned him that his entire family would be killed if he did not accompany them and carried out their orders.

Simultaneously PCPA athorities issued a statement denying their involvement in the massacre and urged the government to restart passenger train movement at night that have been stopped since the sabotage. This is an effort by the Maoist for damage-control.

Senior intelligence officers believe that the rebels might even murder the leaders of the village militia to repair the damage to their image.

"In typical Maoist style, the rebels may execute the men responsible for the derailment, branding them class enemies or traitors," said a police officer, pointing out several recent murders where PCPA men were killed by Maoists.

OneIndia News