HYDERABAD, 23 December 2002 — Sniffer dogs found hacksaw blades yesterday near the site of a train derailment that killed 20 passengers in Andhra Pradesh, deepening fears that sabotage may have caused the crash.
Earlier, investigators found a sheared rail, which prompted the suspicions of sabotage against the Kachiguda-Bangalore Express, which jumped the tracks as it traveled from Hyderabad to Bangalore early Saturday.
Sniffer dogs later found two large blades and cigarette butts in bushes near the sheared rail, said P. Krishnaiah, spokesman of South-Central Railways. A large rock was also placed at the spot where the rail was broken into two, he said.
There were conflicting opinions among officials about what the findings meant.
“Apparently, sabotage was the cause of the accident,” said Bandaru Dattatreya, the junior federal minister for railroads.
State government officials and police, however, expressed doubts, with some saying the accident could have been caused by speeding or poor maintenance of the tracks.
“This was a new railway line opened less than a year ago. Here the trains are supposed to travel at 40 km (24 miles) per hour but this express was running at 90 km (55 miles) per hour. This could have caused this accident,” said T. Devender Goud, home minister of Andhra Pradesh.
Twenty people were killed and 100 injured when the train derailed at about 1 a.m. Saturday (1930 GMT Friday) at Ramalingaipalli village near Gooty town in Andhra Pradesh. At least nine cars and the locomotive went off the rails.
Maoist-Leninist militants or Naxalites are active in Andhra Pradesh, but they are not known to be active in the area of the accident, police said.
An investigation by the commissioner of railway safety was under way. Police were investigating separately.
The commissioner, R.P. Agarwal, declined to say whether he thought it was sabotage.
“We can say something only after a detailed investigation,” he told reporters. His report is expected in 10 days.
Rescuers ended their search for bodies late Saturday. Nineteen bodies were recovered from the scene of accident, while one passenger later died of injuries in the hospital.
About 30 passengers were being treated at nearby hospitals, police said. Six of the injured were believed to be in critical condition.
Poor track maintenance often leads to derailments in India, and Saturday’s derailment was the fifth this year. At least 118 people died when a train plunged off a bridge in eastern India in September.
Meanwhile, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam yesterday offered his condolences to the bereaved families and wished the injured a speedy recovery. “Their grief is shared by the people throughout the country,” a statement said.
