NEW DELHI: Hinting at sabotage behind the Rajya Rani Express derailment, the Railways today said defects in the track could be due to “extraneous factors” as they could not develop suddenly.
A three-foot portion of the railway track was found missing, the police had said earlier.
“The track was tested on February 27 using ultrasonic flaw detectors (USFD) and no defect was found. So, the possibility of involvement of extraneous factors in causing damage to the track cannot be ruled out,” said a source in the railway ministry.
The next USFD test of the track is due on April 27 as the automatic test of railway tracks is done every two months.
Track fracture is either caused by poor maintenance or there can also be man-made factors which can be termed as “extraneous” or “sabotage”.
Besides, the source said, five trains had passed over the track prior to the ill-fated Rajya Rani Express and the loco pilots of those trains had not reported any unusual occurrence.
The real cause of the derailment will be known only after the completion of the inquiry, but there were indications towards sabotage, the source added. (AGENCIES)
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