ABSTRACT
On the night of 2 August 1999, two express passenger trains rammed into each other near Gaisal in Assam, India. Both trains were packed with sleeping passengers and over 300 were reported to have died in the crash. It took a week to clear the debris and conduct an actual body count. Soon after the accident the Inspector of Safety of the Indian Railways undertook a detailed investigation, while almost three weeks later the Government announced the setting up of an Enquiry Commission headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court. However, long before any of these bodies could submit their reports and immediately after the accident, several 'authorities' announced that the crash was due to the 'negligence' of the dead driver of one of the trains. Thus, one man amongst several hundreds was singled out not only for his own death but that of many others.
