Dibrugarh Express derailment doesn't appear to be an act of sabotage, says Bihar CM

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said here today that the derailment of Dibrugarh Express early this morning at Chhapra does not seem to be an act of sabotage.

"Prima facie we feel this is not an act of sabotage, it seems that there was some safety lapse from the railways as the pilot train was absent. From our side we have sanctioned a relief amount of Rs 50,000 each but we have demanded a compensation of Rs five lakh from the railway ministry. The injured will get free of cost treatment." said Manjhi

At least four people were killed and eight were injured in the accident.

Talking about the involvement of Maoists in the accident, former Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said that no conclusions should be derived before any investigation.

"If the on location officials don't feel it's a Maoist attack then the ministers sitting in Delhi shouldn't jump upon conclusion before any investigation."

Railway Minister Sadanand Gowda had announced a compensation of Rs two lakh for the deceased and Rs one lakh for those who were injured.

Kumar however, ridiculed the compensatory amount saying, "Why was ex-gratia amount reduced for rail accident victims? It used to be 5 lakhs, today they announced only 2 Lakhs.