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Godhra carnage an accident: Report

     New Delhi: A one-man commission probing the 2002 train carnage at Godhra town in Gujarat, today said it was an accident, and not a conspiracy as earlier stated. Justice U.C.Banerjee presented his report to the railways ministry, two months after he inspected the train coach again in which 59 Hindu pilgrims were burnt alive. The pilgrims were burnt alive at the Godhra rail station on February 27, 2002, blamed on a suspected Muslim mob. Thousands were later charred to death, mainly Muslims, in reprisal attacks which followed the Sabarmati Express carnage. The report says the fire originated from inside the compartment and no external substance was used to set fire to the train. "In the event the cause of fire being an inflammable liquid it would in fact catch fire upon ignition immediately. There would thus be a change of total sequential aspect to it first the flame, then the smell and lastly the smoke. The factum of user of an inflammable liquid in the coach in my view stands completely ruled out. But since the fire was there it cannot but be concluded that the fire originated in the coach itself without any external input," Banerjee told a news conference here.

     Meanwhile, main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the report had no legal binding. "Commission of enquiry and trial judge has sufficient evidence. They have a legal statutory basis to what they are doing. In a hurried exercise a railway gives the report this is not in any way a substitute to the criminal trial," BJP spokesperson Arun Jaitley said. Jaitley also said the report's timings were coinciding with the forthcoming assembly polls in Bihar, the Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. "We had said it earlier also that the committee which has been formed was to distract people from the Bihar elections. And the timing of the report proves it true that the committee which was formed by Lalu Prasad Yadav was keeping in mind the Bihar elections. And further comments will be made after we have read the report," he said.

EC reprimands Lalu for violation of model code of conduct (Go To Top)

    New Delhi: The Election Commission on Monday severely reprimanded RJD president Lalu Prasad for violating the Model Code of Conduct by distributing money just a few days after the election dates for Bihar were announced. It also warned Lalu against "exemplary action" in case of further violation. In its order, the Commission cautioned RJD and its leaders that this is the "last opportunity" for them to honour the Code and abide by it both "in letter and spirit". The Commission said it would not hesitate to take exemplary action against the party in case of further violation of the Code or lawful directions of the Commission for ensuring free and fair elections.

CPI(M-L) demands CBI probe into Jharkhand legislator's killing (Go To Top)

     New Delhi/Giridih: Activists of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) held a protest march in New Delhi on Monday against the killing of their legislator by suspected Maoists ahead of next month's polls in Jharkhand. In the first major attack in the run up to next month's elections, veteran leader Mahendra Prasad Singh was gunned down by unidentified assailants in Giridih district on Sunday. Police have blamed the killing to Maoist rebels. Activists shouting slogans sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the incident which they said was a political murder.

      Singh, who had filed his nomination from Bagodar on Saturday for the first phase polls on February 3, had won the seat thrice in 1990, 1995 and 2000. The 81-member state assembly of Jharkhand goes to polls in February. Polling has been staggered in three phases to allow movement of security personnel to the leftist infested areas.