CBI Leads Investigation In Odisha Triple Train Accident That Claimed 275 Lives

A10-member CBI team on Monday visited the Balasore train accident site and began its probe into the triple train crash, a Railway official said.

ECoR's Khurda Road division DRM Rintesh Ray said that according to his information, the CBI probe has begun but the details were not immediately known. The Railway Board on Sunday recommended a CBI probe into the accident.

Earlier, Commissioner of Railway Safety Shailesh Kumar Pathak visited the accident site where he went to the control room, signal room and signal point at Bahanaga Bazar railway station.

Following the standard protocol, the central agency will take over the Balasore GRP case number 64, originally registered by the Odisha Police on June 3, just one day after the fateful incident took place in Odisha. The accident involved two passenger trains and a goods train.

The case was initially filed under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including sections 337, 338, 304A, and 34, which pertain to offenses such as causing death by negligence and common intention. Additionally, sections 153, 154, and 175 of the Railways Act, related to unlawful and negligent actions endangering the lives of railway passengers and endangering lives, were included in the case.

It is likely to be allotted to Special Crime Unit at the Delhi Headquarters.

According to the procedure, the CBI re-registers the local police FIR as its own case and starts the probe. It can add or remove a charge from the FIR in its charge sheet filed after the completion of its probe.

"We have recommended a CBI probe into the triple train accident that claimed 275 lives and left over 1,000 injured," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters in Bhubaneswar on Sunday evening.

Railway officials have indicated that possible sabotage and tampering with the electronic interlocking system, which detects the presence of trains, led to the Friday accident.

The tragic incident occurred when the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, en route to Chennai, collided with a stationary goods train on the adjacent track. The impact caused some of the rear carriages of the Coromandel Express to derail onto a third track. Subsequently, a few coaches of the Coromandel Express toppled onto the last coaches of the Bengaluru-Howrah Express, which was passing by at the same time. As many as 21 coaches were derailed and severely damaged in the accident, trapping hundreds of passengers.

With the FIR registered and a CBI investigation underway, authorities aim to uncover the cause of the accident and hold responsible parties accountable.