Amidst allegations that the People's Committee against Police Atrocities played a role in Jnaneswari Express derailment, the Maoist-backed organisation on Sunday denied any involvement in the incident and charged the CPM with "hatching the plot".
"We have no intention to target trains and we condemn and mourn such a colossal loss of civilian lives," PCPA convener, Asit Mahato said and charged the CPM "with hatching the plot".
A day after the state police claimed to have identified two persons of the PCPA recently released on bail having a hand in the derailment of the train's 13 coaches, Mahato said, "politically motivated statements are being issued to separate us from the masses."
"We will take out a procession in the Jangalmahal to mourn the dead in the train disaster. We strongly condemn such acts which take lives of common, innocent men and we express deep shock," Mahato said.
Countering police's claim, the PCPA leader named four CPM district and local leaders and alleged "under their leadership, the CPM has opened camps in the last 15 days at Burjoli, Kolla, Patri and Dahimara villages close to Sardiha where the express train derailed." The mishap that occurred in the wee hours on Friday has claimed 148 lives so far.
Mahato further alleged the four CPM leaders "conspired to create panic by triggering a train mishap and the objective is to malign us and take us away from the people in Jangalmahal by creating a bad name for us."
The PCPA leader said "CPM had plans to politically isolate railway minister Mamata Banerjee so that she is forced to resign under directive of the UPA government after the train mishap". "We strongly protest against such a conspiracy by the CPM which led to such a heinous crime," Mahato said.
The Railway minister had said on Sunday that there was "a political conspiracy" in the derailment of the Jnaneswari Express two days ahead of the civic polls in the state.
"Whoever did it... it was a political conspiracy. The accident has happened two days before the (civic) election. One may be politically against us, but I feel bad the way the incident was engineered to fulfil one's political interests", Banerjee had said.PTI
