By IANS,
New Delhi : The railways have become a “soft target” for “anti-national forces”, Minister of State for Railways E. Ahamed said Friday, after suspected Maoists derailed a train in West Bengal.
“By targeting railways, anti-national groups are inflicting the greatest harm on innocent poor people,” the minister told IANS from Kozhikode in Kerala.
But he added that only an investigation can establish the reasons behind the disaster in Jhagram in West Midnapore district, about 155 km from Kolkata.
The accident occurred at 1.30 a.m. when a Kurla-bound passenger train derailed and was hit by a speeding goods train. Over 200 people have been injured.
“This is quite unfortunate that these days railways have increasingly become the soft target for anti-national forces,” Ahamed said.
He urged all political parties to set aside their differences and come out openly to denounce those who target the railways.