By IANS,
Kolkata : A section of intellectuals Saturday held a candlelight vigil protesting the suspected role of the Maoists in the derailment of the Mumbai-bound Gyaneshwari Express that left 131 dead in West Bengal.
The intellectuals – comprising film makers, actors, singers and writers close to West Bengal’s ruling Left Front – gathered at the city’s cultural hub Rabindra Sadan complex Friday and sang Rabindranath Tagore’s songs of peace.
Among the several hundred people present were singer Usha Utthup, film director Tarun Majumdar and actor Sabyasachi Chakraborty.
The train went off the tracks between Sardiha and Khemasuli railway stations after suspected Maoists removed 1.5 feet of rail track, at 1.30 a.m. Friday rudely shaking the hundreds of sleeping passengers. Five coaches fell on a parallel track.
Unfortunately, even before the trapped passengers could realise what had happened, a speeding goods train coming from the opposite direction rammed into the five coaches, crushing many of them.