Thursday, May 26 2005 12:56 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Banerjee Committee conducting an inquiry into the Godhra train burning incident was today (May 26, 2005) given three months extension by the Union Cabinet.

The Committee headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Justice U C Banerjee was appointed by Railway Minister Laloo Prasad after the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) came to power in Centre.

It had run into controversy for submitting an interim report this year on January 17 terming the train blaze that killed 59 kar sevaks as an accidental fire, which had triggered widespread communal riots in the State in 2002.

"With the elimination of the 'petrol theory', 'miscreant activity theory' as well as the ruling out of any possibility of 'electrical fire', the fire in S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express can at this stage be ascribed as an 'accidental fire'," Justice Banerjee Committee had said in its interim report submitted to Railway Board Chairman R K Singh.

The report given prior to the polls in Bihar had generated a big controversy as it was used by political parties in the campaigning forcing the Election Commission (EC) to register FIRs against those who pasted posters on this issue blaming Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the post-Godhra riots.

Justice Banerjee in his interim report had also ruled out the possibility of any inflammable liquid from being thrown from outside into the coach.

The report had come under immediate attack from BJP, which called it an "extra-constitutional effort to influence the course of justice", while the then Railway Minister Nitish Kumar described it a "political stunt" in view of the coming elections.