Odisha Train Tragedy: CBI Files Chargesheet In Balasore Crash Case; 3 Railways Officials Booked Under Culpable Homicide Charges

The CBI has charged three railway officials with alleged culpable homicide not amounting to murder and causing disappearance of evidence in the June 2 Balasore train accident case.

The agency had arrested senior section engineer (Signals) Arun Kumar Mahanta, senior section engineer (in Soro) Amir Khan and technician Pappu Kumar, all posted in Balasore district, on July 7 in connection with its investigation into the deadly accident, which left 296 people dead and more than 1,200 injured.

The accident took place when the Coromandel Express crashed into a stationary freight train at Bahanaga Bazar Station in Balasore and some of its derailed coaches fell on to the adjacent tracks and collided with the oncoming Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express.

Officers Booked Under Charges Of Culpable Homicide

The CBI filed its charge sheet before the special judicial magistrate in Bhubaneswar on Saturday. The officials were charged under Section 304 Part II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and Section 34 read with 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 153 of the Railways Act (endangering safety of railways passenger by willful act of omission), the agency’s spokesperson said in a statement in New Delhi.

The CBI alleged that the accused had direct responsibility of efficient upkeep of signal and telecommunication assets of Bahanaga Bazar Railway Station. It also alleged that the repair work at the level crossing gate number 94 near the station was done under direct supervision of Mahanta using the circuit diagram of LC Gate 79.

The typical circuit diagram of another LC gate No 79 was being used at the time of execution of wiring work being done at North Goomty (hut) of Bahanaga Bazar Railway Station, for changing the operation of level crossing gate No 94 from 110 volt AC to 24 volt DC, the agency alleged.

The duty of the accused persons was to ensure that testing, overhauling and carrying out alterations to the existing signal and interlocking installations were in accordance with the approved plan and instructions, which they did not do, it said. The agency took over the investigation from Odisha Police.

Possible Reasons Of Tragedy

A railway inquiry had found “wrong signalling” to be the main reason for the accident and flagged “lapses at multiple levels” in the signalling and telecommunication department, but indicated that the tragedy could have been averted if past red flags were reported.

The independent inquiry report submitted by the Commission of Railway Safety to the Railway Board said notwithstanding the lapses in signalling work, remedial actions could have been taken by signalling and telecommunication staff if “repeated unusual behaviour” of switches connecting two parallel tracks were reported to them by the station manager of Bahanaga Bazar.

The report also suggested that non-supply of station-specific approved circuit diagram for the works to replace the electric lifting barrier at level crossing gate 94 was a “wrong step that led to wrong wiring”. It said a team of field supervisors modified the wiring diagram and failed to replicate it.

The report also said there was a similar incident on May 16, 2022, at Bankranayabaz Station in the Kharagpur Division of South Eastern Railway on account of wrong wiring and cable fault. “Had corrective measures been taken, after this incident, to address the issue of wrong wiring, the accident at BNBR would not have taken place,” it added.