New Delhi: The CBI is offering one lakh for information that could help locate three people it has accused of the West Bengal train attack last month in which 148 people died.
A section of the track was removed, a train headed to Mumbai derailed in Jhargram in West Midnapore, and was then hit by another train.
The CBI says three members of the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCPA) are responsible. Among them, Asit Mahato, the spokesperson of the PCPA, who has denied that the group played any role in the sabotage that led to the train tragedy.
The PCPA is described often as a front organization for the Maoists in the area. It was formed after November 2008, when an assassination attempt was made against Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee during a trip to Lalgarh. The police responded with a series of arrests amidst severe criticism by intellectuals in Kolkata and allegations of massive violations of human rights of the tribals in the area.
Supported by the PCPA, the tribals then began a violent agitation that lasted several months, refusing to let security forces and state administrators into Lalgarh. The Maoists were bent on creating and running "a liberated zone"- one in which the government would play no part.
Finally, a massive operation that combined central security forces and the state police was able to reclaim the area.