Odisha Train Tragedy: CBI Summons Bhanaga Station Master, Says Reports

Bhubaneswar: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has reportedly summoned Bahanaga railway station manger in connection with the June 2 triple train crash in Odisha.

He has been asked to asked to be present at the CBI office in Bhubaneswar.

The central agency is currently grilling Senior Section Engineer (signal) Arun Kumar Mahanta, Section Engineer Mohammed Amir Khan and Technician Pappu Kumar, who were arrested on July 7. They have been booked under IPC Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence).

Last month, the CBI officials had picked the station manger and signalling officer and had interrogated them at an undisclosed location in Balasore. A senior railways official had told Hindustan Times that assistant station master SB Mohanty and four railway workers were under the scanner, suggesting that they did not conduct proper tests after a maintenance operation that may have interfered with the line’s signalling system on the day of the disaster.

According to reports, the arrested three had the knowledge about the ‘unusual behaviour’ of the switching mechanism in the track changing system and the accident could have been averted if the error was quickly communicated to the station manager of Bahanga station.

Also Read: “They Had Knowledge”: CBI Grills 3 Arrested Railway Officials On Bhubaneswar Outskirts

On the evening of June 2, the Coromandel Express crashed into a stationary freight train at Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore, some of its derailed coaches then colliding with Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express, leaving 293 dead.