The Centre today said the needle of suspicion in the Jnaneswari Express disaster killing 148 people pointed to Maoists, as the West Bengal government ruled out a CBI probe in a snub to Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee.

"The needle of suspicion points to Maoists or frontal organisations of CPI Maoists," Chidambaram said in New Delhi during his monthly media briefing, taking a line different from Banerjee who said a "political conspiracy" by the state government ahead of the civic polls was behind the derailment.

"However, the identity of the culprit can be established only in the investigations," he said
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The Left-ruled government rejecting Trinamool Congress leader's demand  said the Union Home ministry had sent a letter yesterday to Chief Secretary Ardhendu Sen seeking concurrence of the state government for a CBI probe into the derailment of the Howrah-Kurla express train in West Midnapore district in the wee hours of May 28.

"The CID probe has progressed a great deal and the state government does not feel that a parallel inquiry is necessary," Home Secretary Samar Ghosh told reporters in Kolkata when asked about the demand for a CBI inquiry.

Chidambaram said Railway Ministry has suggested that there should be a CBI inquiry. "We have asked for West Bengal government's views," he said.

'Political conspiracy'

Asked about reports of blast on the track, Chidambaram said, "I have been told by the West Bengal government and other police officials who visited the site that so far there is no trace of any explosives.

“The West Bengal government is on record saying panrole clips were removed and track was cut. That is also prima facie established. Only further investigations will bring out the truth," he said.

Alleging that there was a 'political conspiracy' behind the disaster in a no-holds barred fight with the CPI-M on who was to blame, the Railway minister on May 29 demanded a CBI investigation.

She had said the Railways had requested the Union Home Ministry for a CBI probe since the disaster occurred in 'jangalmahal' where joint operations were on.

Charges of murder and attempt to murder and sabotage have meanwhile been included in the FIR filed by the Railways in connection with the disaster.

The police have been asked to add 'criminal conspiracy,' 'murder,' and 'attempt to murder' charges in the FIR, Additional DGP (Railways) Dilip Mitra told PTI today.

"We have found that the ingredients of the driver's account in the FIR were not enough to put up a strong case. So I visited the spot myself and found that the incident prima facie appeared to be an act of sabotage," he said.

Superintendent of the Jhargram Railway Police Shankar Chakraborty had said on Saturday that the Jnaneswari Express driver B K Das filed the complaint against 'unidentified miscreants' under sections 150 and 151 of the Railway Act.

Ghosh when asked why a CID inquiry was ordered said generally the Commissioner of Railway Safety inquired into railway accidents. But since there was criminal involvement and sabotage in the disaster, the CID was investigating it.

Asked how long the CID inquiry would take, he said, "it can't be said immediately."