These had apparently been removed at some point shortly before the crash. The investigators reported that the plates had probably been removed by Naxalites, who were conducting a low-intensity guerrilla war at the time. The leaders of their organisation, the People's War Group had recently been arrested, and this was described as a being a revenge attack. Other commentators have questioned this view, some claiming that fish plates were not missing at all, or that they were dislodged during the crash and fell into the river. Others assert that the fish plates may have been missing either through common theft for scrap metal or through the shifting of the weakened bridge shortly before the accident. The Naxalites themselves have not claimed credit for the "attack", and have never been known to target trains before. External links Early News Report INS News on enquiry Red Cross News Report CBS Report on possible sabotage The sabotage debate 2002 disasters in India 21st-century mass murder in India Mass murder in 2002 Terrorist incidents in India in 2002 Railway accidents in 2002 Derailments in India Train wrecks caused by sabotage Railway accidents and incidents in Bihar Naxalite–Maoist insurgency History of Bihar (1947–present) Bridge disasters in India Bridge disasters caused by terrorism Aurangabad district, Bihar Crime in Bihar September 2002 events in India