Author: Pramod Kr Singh
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: May 26, 2006
Interpol has issued a red corner notice for
the arrest of Salim Haji Ibrahim alias Salim Paanwala, the main accused in
the Godhra train tragedy, in which 59 passengers were burnt alive on February
27, 2002.
Sources said that the red corner notice was
issued after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) vetted material evidence
furnished by the Gujarat Government and moved the Interpol to issue an alert
for Paanwala's arrest.
Intelligence sources said Salim Paanwala is
in Pakistan, which indicates that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) may
have a hand in the Godhra carnage.
The notice issued on April 11is a slap on
the face of Justice UC Banerjee Committee. The committee - appointed by Union
Railways Minister Lalu Prasad - had said in its report that the Godhra incident
was an accident.
In sharp contrast to Justice Banerjee Report,
the fact sheet ascribed in Interpol's notice reads, "On February, 2002,
an attack occurred on Sabarmati Express which was travelling between Muzaffarpur
to Ahmedabad. The attack on the coach no S-6 of the train was pre- meditated
and resulted in serious injury to 46 passengers and death to 59 passengers.
As the train pulled away from Godhra station where it had a scheduled stop,
four chains were pulled in four different carriages, causing the train to
stop.
"Investigations have revealed that during
the time the train was stopped, the offenders, collected eight canisters of
petrol from the nearby co-conspirator. Shortly afterwards, the four emergency
chains were pulled again and the train halted. Investigations have revealed
that pulling of the emergency chains was part of a plan. As soon as the train
stopped, it was attacked by mobs outside, who pelted it with rods and broke
windows and attacked it with arms and inflammable material."
The Bannerji Committee had hit the headlines
for its accidental theory but the police . investigation found that Razak
Kurkur and Salim Paanwala, residents of Godhra, had hatched a conspiracy to
torch the compartment. They took the help of six young boys to cut the vestibule
that joins S-6 and S-7, to pour the petrol into S-6. Two other boys helped
them pull the chain near the A cabin, a little distance away from the Godhra
platform. Maulvi Umerji, a resident of Signal Falia, was charge-sheeted for
masterminding the offence by Gujarat Police.
