On Friday, July 7, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), arrested three railway employees, in relation with the Balasore triple-train accident, involving the Coromandel Express, the Howrah-Yashwantpur Express, and a goods train. The accident had taken place in the evening of June 2, and more than 290 passengers lost their lives in the same. After a preliminary report was prepared in the case, the Railway Board had given the case to be investigated by the CBI.
Senior Section Engineer, Arun Kumar Mohanta, Section Engineer Mohammad Amir Khan, and Technician Pappu Kumar, have been arrested under sections 304 and 201 of the CrPC, which are related to the destruction of evidence and culpable homicide. Investigation into the train crash confirmed that error and negligence on the part of the Signal and Telecommunication Department staff had led to the tragedy.
AM Chowdhary, Commissioner of Railway Safety, South Eastern Zone, said, “Lapses at multiple levels in the S&T Department were responsible for this accident. Some of these lapses included wrong labelling of wires”.
