NEW DELHI: On a day when a Nepalese citizen, suspected of having links with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and a prime accused in last November's Kanpur derailment case, was arrested in
Kathmandu after he was deported from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday got police remand of three accused in the Ghorasahan (Motihari) case, the probe into which had earlier revealed the role of the Pakistani covert agency indirectly funding its agents to effect train derailments in India.
The NIA is likely to approach Nepal police for questioning Nepalese citizen Shamshul Hoda, the mastermind behind the recent train derailments in India including the Kanpur incident in which nearly 150
passengers were killed and 200 others were injured.
Sources said sleuths of external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) will soon join the probe with Nepal police to unravel Hoda’s nexus with the ISI and his role in funding criminals
to plant improvised explosive devices on railway tracks.
During the probe into the Motihari case by the Bihar police, the three accused - Moti Paswan, Uma Shankar Patel and Mukesh Yadav - had revealed the role of the ISI in train derailments in the hinterland.
“Accused Moti Paswan, Uma Shankar Patel and Mukesh Yadav have been taken on police remand by the NIA in the Motihari case. The three accused will be produced in the special NIA court, Patna, on
February 14, 2017,” the agency said in a statement.
Recently, the NIA was entrusted with the probe into the Ghorasahan case, Hirakhand Express train derailment in Vizianagaram and the Kanpur derailment by the Home Ministry, after prima facie
evidence hinted at sabotage.
The trio had told the Bihar police that the derailment of the Indore-Patna Express train on November 20 last year near Kanpur was caused due to sabotage by the ISI.
As many as 39 people were killed in the Hirakhand Express train derailment in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh.