Key suspect arrested in deadly India train sabotage

Jun 20, 2010, 13:31 GMT

New Delhi - Indian police said Sunday they had arrested a pro-Maoist activist who is the main suspect in the derailment of a train in eastern West Bengal state last month, news reports said.

A section of a rail track was removed in West Midnapore district on May 28, derailing the Gyaneshwari Express heading from the West Bengal capital Kolkata to Mumbai.

The passenger train was then hit by a freight train. At least 148 people were killed in the accident.

The police have accused Maoist rebels of removing part of the rail track. The rebels have denied the charge.

Bapi Mahato, a leader of the pro-Maoist Peoples' Committee Against Police Atrocities, was arrested in West Bengal's neighbouring Jharkhand state, IANS news agency reported, citing West Bengal police.

India's federal Central Bureau of Investigation had announced a reward for information leading to Mahato's capture.

Mahato is the fifth man to be arrested for the suspected sabotage of the rail tracks.

The Maoists claim to represent tribal people, the poor and the landless and are active in 223 of India's 626 administrative districts.

More than 1,500 people have been killed in violence linked to the Maoist insurgency in India since January 2009.