UPDATE: After the media reported that JE Amir Khan was absconding, CPRO South Eastern Railways refuted the media reports. This report, which was based on Wion News, Business Standard and others has been updated to reflect the latest information.
#WATCH | Balasore train accident | "A few media reports are coming in that a Bahanaga staff is absconding and missing. This is factually incorrect. The entire staff is present & a part of inquiry. They are appearing before agency," says Aditya Kumar Chaudhary, CPRO South Eastern… pic.twitter.com/Htc538cIFp
— ANI (@ANI) June 20, 2023
Balasore train accident | “A few media reports are coming in that a Bahanaga staff is absconding and missing. This is factually incorrect. The entire staff is present & a part of inquiry. They are appearing before agency,” said Aditya Kumar Chaudhary, CPRO South Eastern Railway.
On June 19, It was reported that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sealed the rented house of Junior Engineer (JE) Amir Khan. As per reports, Khan is a suspect in Odisha triple train tragedy that the CBI is investigating. When a CBI team reached his house located near Annapurna Rice Mill in Soro, the house was locked. The CBI later sealed it. The June 2 triple train accident at Bahanaga took away the lives of 292 passengers and injured over a thousand.
The Business Standard report said two CBI personnel are watching the house after the JE had reportedly absconded with family after initial questioning, however, Railway authorities have now refuted claims.
Role of signal JE at the Indian Railways
The signal JE is responsible for installing, maintaining and repairing the signalling equipment, including point machines, interlocking systems and signals, etc. In short, they play a vital role in ensuring train operations run smoothly and safely.
Railway officials raised suspicion of deliberate sabotage
Notably, railway officials have insisted that the train accident was possibly a result of sabotage by “deliberate interference with the electronic interlocking system.” In a report, the Times of India quoted the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Khurda, Rinkesh Roy, saying, “You get green signal only after fulfilling all the pre-conditions such as whether the route is set and everything is right. Even if there is a minor problem, technically, there cannot be a green signal in any circumstance; it becomes red. It can’t go green unless and until someone has tampered with it, someone has physically tempered with it.”
Investigation was handed over to CBI on June 6
On June 6, the investigation into the train accident was taken over by the central investigation agency. An FIR has already been initiated in the matter. CBI was handed over the investigation after the allegations of tampering with the electronic interlocking system came to the fore following the accident.
For those who are unaware, electronic interlocking systems installed at the stations provide vital information about the status of the trains. The railway officials had raised suspicions of deliberate sabotage. The official sources quoted by WION suggested five railway employees are under CBI’s radar for the investigation.
