Odisha Train Accident: CBI Makes First Arrests, Three Railways Officials Held

Balasore Train Accident: The arrested officials have been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and destruction of evidence.

Vande Bharat Express passes by the triple train mishap site near Bahanaga Bazar in Balasore district

Source : PTI

The CBI has arrested three Railways officials, all posted in Balasore district, in connection with the Odisha train accident in which 293 people died. The arrested officials -- senior section engineer Arun Kumar Mohanta, section engineer Mohammad Amir Khan and technician Pappu Kumar -- have been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and destruction of evidence, PTI reported.

The accident, one of the deadliest in India's history, involved the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express from Shalimar, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and a stationary goods train. The accident took place near the Bahanaga Bazar railway station on June 2, leaving 293 people dead and more than 1,000 injured.

A high-level inquiry into the tragedy by the Commissioner of Railways Safety (CRS) found "wrong signalling" to be the main reason for the accident and dismissed previous reports of a sabotage or a technical glitch.

READ | Ignoring Red Flags, Signalling Failure Led To Odisha Train Accident, Says Probe Report

The CRS, which comes under Ministry of Civil Aviation, is the government body that looks into railway safety and investigates incidents. 

The inquiry panel also flagged "lapses at multiple levels" in the signalling and telecommunication (S&T) department. The report also said the tragedy could have been averted if past red flags were reported.

The report further said the station manager of Bahanaga Bazar should have reported the "repeated unusual behaviour" of switches connecting two parallel tracks to the S&T department, following which remedial action could have been taken.

The CRS report also suggested that the non-supply of a station-specific approved circuit diagram for the works to replace the electric lifting barrier at level crossing gate 94 at Bahanaga Bazar station was a "wrong step that led to wrong wiring", PTI reported.

The inquiry report also urged the Railways to review the system of disaster response in the zonal railways, saying the initial response to such a tragedy should be faster. 

Coordination between the zonal railways and various disaster-response forces like NDRF and SDRF should also be reviewd, the report said.