Odisha Train Collision: The CBI on Saturday (September 2) chargesheeted three railway officials arrested in connection with alleged culpable homicide not amounting to murder and destruction of evidence in the June 2 Balasore train accident case. Filed. The officials gave this information.
The CBI had arrested three Senior Section Engineer (Signal) Arun Kumar Mahanta, Senior Section Engineer Amir Khan and Technician Pappu Kumar posted in Balasore district of Odisha on July 7 in connection with the investigation of this train accident. The accident killed 296 people and injured over 1,200.
Terrible train accident happened on June 2
The accident took place on June 2 when the Coromandel Express rammed into a stationary goods train at Bahanga Bazar station in Balasore district and some of its derailed coaches fell onto the adjacent tracks and the passing Yesvantpur-Howrah Express. collided with.
In its charge sheet filed before the special CBI court in Bhubaneswar, the probe agency booked the accused under sections 304 Part-II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), section 201 (destruction of evidence), section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and railway Charges have been framed under section 153 (willful omission to endanger safety of railway passengers) of the Act.
What did the CBI say in the charge sheet?
He said that the duty of the accused was to ensure that the existing signal and ‘interlocking installation’ tested, repaired and altered in accordance with the approved plan and instructions, but did not do so.
The main reason for the accident was found in railway investigation
The Central Investigation Agency had taken over the investigation from the Odisha Police. A high-level railway inquiry found ‘wrong signalling’ to be the main cause of the accident and also flagged ‘lapses at multiple levels’ in the signaling and telecommunications department, but indicated that if previous warning signals were reported Tragedy could have been avoided if he had acted.
The report states that a team of field supervisors modified the wiring diagram, but failed to replicate it. The report also states that on May 16, 2022, a similar incident took place at Bankarnayabaz station of Kharagpur division of South Eastern Railway due to wrong wiring and cable fault. It added, ‘‘Had corrective measures been taken after the incident to address the issue of wrong wiring, the Bahanga market accident would not have happened.
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