New Delhi:
Mamata Banerjee got exactly what she wanted on Wednesday. She won the Kolkata Municipal elections, made huge gains in the civic polls in the rest of West Bengal, and received the news that there will, after all, be a CBI inquiry into last week's massive train accident which left close to 150 people dead in Midnapore.
Banerjee, who is the Railways Minister, had blamed a "political conspiracy" for the accident, even as the state's Left government, the police, and Home Minister P Chidambaram said that signs suggested this was an attack by Naxals.
The state government had, earlier this week, rejected the need for a CBI inquiry, stating that its own investigation was making good progress.
West Bengal Home Secretary Samar Ghosh tells NDTV that the Centre sent it a letter on Wednesday informing it that a CBI inquiry had, however, been sanctioned.
Legally, the Centre requires the assent of the state government to order a CBI inquiry into a matter concerning the state. However, in this case, a technicality seems to have provided a loophole. Sources say the Centre states that since the attack on the train took place on Railway property, the decision to order a CBI investigation rests with the Centre.
The Centre has reportedly used Section 5 of Delhi Police Special Establishment Act, under which the CBI functions. Section 5 of this Act says that the Central Government may by order extend to any area (including Railways areas), 1[in 2[a State, not being a Union territory]] the powers and jurisdiction of member of the Delhi Special Police Establishment for the investigation of any offences or classes of offences.
The inquiry will include inputs from the Railways Protection Force and the West Bengal government.
(
With PTI inputs)