Badlaghat train disaster: Bihar CM Jagannath Mishra spars with rail minister Kedar Pande

The June 6 Badlaghat train disaster is now taking its political toll. Badlaghat means 'place of revenge', and Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra, taking advantage of the Railway Ministry's ditherings over the tragedy, has gone to war against his arch political rival, Union Railway Minister Kedar Pande.

"Dirty politics," stormed Pande last week, in response to Mishra's manoeuvrings, "It is unfortunate that some people are playing politics over the dead bodies. I cannot prevent anybody from voicing his opinion but the way some of our party leaders and Bihar government officials have been directing their energy in attacking the railways, for reasons best known to them, it is clear that all they want to achieve is to pull down the minister by hook or by crook."

The minister's annoyance notwithstanding, the mystery surrounding the actual cause of the mishap and the number of passengers who died deepened further as navy divers suspended the salvage operation on June 12-six days after the disaster-after recovering 246 highly decomposed bodies. Mishra sent an SOS to the prime minister, requesting her to persuade the navy to resume operations, because "many more bodies were still trapped inside the bogies".

However, Chief of Naval Staff R. L. Pereira told newsmen in Delhi the same evening: "Our boys have done a total job." But, in the next three days, district administration workers, along with army and air force personnel, fished out 22 more bodies, bringing the tally to 268. The administration listed another 400 passengers as 'missing', and claimed compensation.