CBI Steps Up Probe At Odisha Train Accident Site In Balasore

Bhubaneswar: A day after reaching Bahanaga in Odisha’s Balasore district, a team of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday stepped up its probe into the horrific triple train mishap in which at least 278 people were killed and over 1100 injured.

After arrival, the 10-member CBI team visited Bahanaga railway station and started the investigation. The CBI sleuths are also accompanied by a forensic team, sources said.

The team members visited the signal room at the railway station and examined different equipment and gadgets. They also spoke to the employees at the signal room and sought information about the functioning of different equipment.

This apart, the CBI sleuths went around the site where two passengers trains and a freight were involved in the deadly accident on Friday evening.

The team members examined the railway tracks at the site. They also examined both the loop line and the main line at Bahanaga, besides interacting with railway officials to seek several information as part of the investigation which is likely to continue for some time.

As per the data logger, the signal for the Coromandel Express on the loop line was green. But technically it is not possible. Hence tampering with the electronic interlocking system cannot be ruled out, according to Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Khurda Road, Rinkesh Ray.

Following the accident, which has officially claimed 278 lives and left more than 1,100 passengers injured, the Railway officials had indicated the possibility of sabotage.

On Sunday evening, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said the Railway Board recommended investigation by the CBI.

According to the procedure, the Central agency takes over the Balasore GRP case number 64 registered by Odisha Police on June 3, a day after the accident.

A senior railways official said that the CBI is conducting investigation taking into consideration all possible aspects. The probe team is gathering different information and the railways will extend full cooperation.

Vaishnaw had on Sunday said that the Railway Board recommended for the CBI probe on the basis of our administrative information regarding the mishap. The probe will include the circumstances that led to the the train accident and the persons responsible for this, he had said.

The Commissioner of Railway Safety and the CBI are probing the mishap simultaneously and independently, a railway official said.