Two major train accidents near Kanpur which resulted in deaths of 151 passengers and injuries to 200 others, were carried out on the instructions of Pakistan's external spy agency ISI, according to the Bihar police.
The ISI hand was exposed following the arrest of three criminals Umashankar Patel, Motilal Paswan and Mukesh Yadav from Motihari on the Indo-Nepal border who were working at the instance of an ISI agent, a Nepalese citizen based in Dubai.
"Our team of investigators are in touch with the local police and will examine the disclosures made by the arrested accused. If our preliminary conclusions vet the ISI-link theory, there is a possibility of NIA taking over the investigation,"Those involved in the plot could have killed many more if they had succeeded in derailing a passenger train by setting off an explosion on a rail track. Also, a major train accident was foiled on January 1 by the railway patrolling staff, who detected that 50 elastic rail clips and three pairs of fishplates were removed and deliberate damage caused by a hacksaw on the track between Kalyanpur and Mandhana stations in the Farrukhabad-Kanpur Anwarganj section.
Railways has already asked CBI to inquire into the incident which happened a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to address a political rally in Lucknow.
"Fortunately, the bomb at Ghorasahan was detected with the help of villagers and defused," Rana said about the attempt by the trio to cause an accident in East Champaran district of Bihar on October 1 last year.
Passengers of the Indore-Patna Express were not so lucky. At least 151 were killed when the train flew off the track on November 21 last year. Just over a month later, more than 50 people were injured when Ajmer-Sealdah Express derailed, again near Kanpur, on December 28.
Rana said the trio had received around Rs 3 lakh till now from Brij Kishore Giri for engineering train accidents. Brij is a Nepali citizen. He along with Shambhu Giri and Mujahir Ansari was arrested by Nepal police recently. "The Nepal police have shared vital information with us regarding their ISI links," Rana said, adding that the state ATS (anti-terrorism squad) and other security agencies have been informed about their confession. RPF is also in touch with the Bihar police and is coordinating efforts to reach the bottom of the conspiracy.
Rana said Motilal was earlier a Maoist operating in Adapur block of East Champaran district. "Umashankar has at least four criminals cases against him while 12 cases are lodged against Motilal and Mukesh," the SP said, adding investigations were on to gather information on the main handler of the gang.