On Friday, July 7, the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) arrested three Railway employees in connection to the Balasore train accident. The arrested persons have been identified as senior Section engineer Arun Kumar Mohanta, section engineer Mohammad Amir Khan and technician Pappu Kumar.
As per the initial reports, the three have been booked under sections 304 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code for culpable homicide and destruction of evidence. These three are accused of homicide that does not constitute murder because their conduct caused the accident and “they had knowledge” that they would do so.
Balasore train accident | CBI has arrested 3 people, senior Section engineer Arun Kumar Mohanta, section engineer Mohammad Amir Khan & technician Pappu Kumar, under sections 304 and 201 CrPC pic.twitter.com/EkXTYFHncd
— ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2023
This is almost a week after an investigation by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) found faults from the signalling and telecommunication department (S&T) for the grave tragedy.
The accident involving Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast, and an iron-ore good train claimed 292 lives and injured over 1,200 passengers in Bahanaga Bazar station near Balasore in Odisha.
The accident took place after the Coromandel Express entered the loop line at the station instead of going straight on the main line, hit the goods train parked there at full speed, and its derailed coaches hit the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast which was just passing the station. It was evident the signalling was wrongly set for the train at the station.
The CSR report stated that the errors led to incorrect signalling for Train No. 12841, which traversed on the UP loop line and eventually rear-ended the Goods train (No. N/DDIP) that was waiting there. The UP Home Signal had indicated Green aspect for run-through movement on the UP main line of the station, but the crossover connecting the Up main line to the Up loop line (crossover 17A/B) was set to the UP loop line.
According to the research, an identical incident occurred on May 16, 2022 at Bankranayabaz station on South Eastern Railway’s Khargpur Division as a result of incorrect wiring and cable problems.
According to the investigation, incorrect labelling of wires within the level-crossing position box went years unnoticed before it resulted in a mix-up during maintenance work. As per the authorities, the tragedy could have been avoided if prior warning signs had not been disregarded.
The CRS then suggested that an effort be started to update the completion signalling wiring diagrams, other papers, and labelling of signalling circuits on site. It also recommended that a different team be sent out to inspect and test the modified signalling circuits and functions before the work was restored and reconnected.
