Part 8.
Marandi probably realised what was about to happen minutes before it actually did. But like the drivers of the two trains it was too late.
Strangely, for deaths on such a scale, there were no vultures hovering above Gaisal. The only ones to come were a flock of politicians, eager to feed off the dead. Former home minister Taslimuddin brought his supporters screaming "Taslimuddin zindabad, Nitish Kumar murdabad"; Mamata Banerjee came for about 15 minutes and found a crowd as big as those at one of her public meetings; West Bengal...
more... BJP state Vice-President Parash Dutta said he had faxed the prime minister a letter, saying the tragedy was caused by sabotage and not human error. Not to be outdone, the Democratic Youth Federation of India -- below a large banner, claiming credit -- put up gruesome pictures for relatives to identify their deceased kin.
In an already chaotic relief effort, these intrusions seemed to serve no purpose. As the debris was cleared and families claimed bodies, the crowds at Gaisal dispersed. And train services settled once again into the scary state of normalcy.
#Continued....