Kanpur train tragedy was a terror act: police

The train derailment in Kanpur on 21 November that killed 150 people was a terror act, planned and funded by anti-India elements based in Dubai, according to Bihar police. The revelations were made by the three criminals arrested for planting a bomb on rail track in Bihar's Raxaul district on 1 October, according to police in East Champaran district.

Motihari police in Bihar have arrested three persons, and based on their statements, it has been concluded that Pakistan might be behind the disastrous Kanpur train accident.

The arrested trio also gave a brief description of a network of anti-India elements with likely links with Pakistan's ISI paying money to criminals in India to carry out blasts and sabotage action on rail tracks in the country, police said.

The arrested persons said they were given more targets and police probe is underway to find their links with Kanpur train accident, East Champaran SP Jitendra Rana said.

Police also said that one of the persons arrested has confessed that he was paid by the ISI agents based in Pak.

''The recovery of an improvised explosive device on Raxaul-Sitamarhi route near Ghorasahan railway station on October 1, which disrupted train services for more than 12 hours, was funded by a Dubai-based trader from Nepal named Shamshul Hoda,'' said Rana. ''There is a possibility that the derailment of Indore-Patna Express and the Shealdah-Ajmer Express were also carried out by these people. Efforts are on to find out more details from the ongoing interrogation,'' he added.

Moti Paswan, the main accused in the Ghorasahan sabotage case, and two others arrested in that connection have reportedly confessed to have received a ''big amount'' from Hoda to carry out blasts on rail tracks in north India.

The two criminals were arrested in connection with the murder of two Raxaul residents in Nepal.

''Three people arrested in Nepal – Brijkishore Giri, Muzahid Ansari and Shambhu – and two other men were active in this group. Giri, the kingpin, had paid money to these people to carry out blasts on rail tracks near Ghorasahan. Umashankar Patel, Mukesh Yadav and Moti Paswan, who have been arrested, had received the money and given the bomb planting task to two other men,'' said Rana.

The two men were killed for their failed attempt as the police detected and recovered the powerful IED and averted a major accident.

''They were taken to Nepal and brutally killed in a jungle there. Investigation into these two murders unravelled the sinister network,'' said Rana.

Bihar police have sought the assistance of ATS and intelligence agencies to explore the entire extent of this network. ''The involvement of some agencies from across the border has been detected. Further probe will expose the exact role of these agencies and the likelihood that they were behind the Kanpur derailment,'' said Rana.