NEW DELHI/GODHRA, 16 September 2004 — The high-level committee, appointed by the center at the behest of Railways Minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav for a fresh probe into the 2002 Godhra incident that sparked the Gujarat carnage, began its investigation yesterday.
Appointed on Sept. 2, the committee has been given three months to investigate the exact cause of fire inside the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express train , in which more than 50 Karsevaks were killed on Feb. 27, 2002.
Headed by U.C. Bannerjee, a former Supreme Court Judge, the committee visited Godhra yesterday, conducted inspections of the charred coach and questioned railway officials about the incident. Assisted by fire, mechanical/technical experts — Balakesaria, S.K. Dheri and S.K. Khanna- Bannerjee took samples from the interiors of the coach.
Later, Bannerjee told reporters that the committee, formed under the Railways Act, first aimed to “understand what had actually happened inside the S-6 coach and how the fire had begun.”
The technical experts solicited details regarding functioning of the train’s vacuum brake-pipe and all chain pulling features that were responsible for it to stop before the coach caught fire.
After halting a train coming from Baroda, the team got onboard, took it near the trouble spot and crosschecked various details about the stone throwing that had occurred on Feb. 27, 2002.
Bannerjee refused to comment on whether he would consider the evidence gathered and the findings of the Special Investigating Team (SIT) of the Gujarat police and other state agencies.
Over the past two and a half years, since the Godhra incident, several highly contradictory reports have hit the media waves. The one compiled by forensic experts, led by Scientific Officer A.N. Joshi, claimed that the ill-fated coach caught fire from the inside. The report said: “It was found that the height of the window of the coach was seven feet from the ground at the place. Under the circumstance, it was not possible to throw any inflammable fluid inside, from outside the coach, because by doing this, most of the fluid would spill outside.” The team also found no burning marks on the windows.
