Gyaneshwari Express Sabotage - II

Even a week after the destruction of the Gyaneshwari Express on 28 May, none among the important CPI(Maoist) leaders and spokespersons – Ganpathi, Kishenji, Ramanna, Azad, among others – has as yet officially come out with a public statement denying their role (or owning up).

Asit Mahato, the leader of the People’s Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) (which claims to be independent of the Maoist party) has issued a statement dissociating his organisation from the incident. Yet, another member of the same organisation – Bapi Mahato – has admitted that it was responsible for the attack, and confessed\\ that the targeting of the passenger train was a “mistake” (Indian Express, 31 May). But they cannot be regarded as official spokespersons of the party. A few newspapers have quoted some anonymous M aoists saying that they were not responsible. But why are the party leaders (e g, the ever-eloquent Kishenji and the mediasavvy Azad) silent?