NIA starts probe into Ghorasahan, Kanpur, Kuneru cases

New Delhi, Jan 26 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday started its probe into the train derailments in Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Kuneru in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar's Ghorasahan case in which an IED was found near a rail track.

The agency action came after a green signal from the Home Ministry, which on Thursday handed over the Kanpur and Kuneru train derailment cases to it. The Ghorasahan case was handed over to the NIA on Wednesday.

"We received the order to probe the Ghorasahan incident on Wednesday. The case will be investigated by an NIA team led by an Inspector General-rank officer. Some team members have reached Bihar today (Thursday) while some will go later," an NIA officer told IANS on the condition of anonymity.

The officer also said that today (Thursday) they got the go-ahead to probe the Kanpur and Kuneru cases.

The ministry's move came days after the Bihar Police arrested three suspected criminals -- Moti Paswan, Uma Shankar Patel and Mukesh Yadav -- in connection with the case and claimed that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had conspired to carry out a spate of train derailments in India.

During interrogation, the Bihar Police said, the three accused confessed to receiving Rs 3 lakh from Nepal citizen Brajesh Giri, who is allegedly connected with the ISI, for planting the bomb on rail tracks at Ghorasahan in East Champaran district on October 1 last year to cause an accident. The tragedy was, however, averted.

The police said Paswan revealed during interogation that the money was routed through ISI's Dubai-based agent Shamshul Huda to carry out the derailments. Huda is a known operative of fake Indian currency and has a network in Nepal.

The Bihar Police had accused Paswan and his accomplices of the Indore-Patna Express derailment on November 20 last year near Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, in which over 100 passengers died.