Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: A 10-member team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has reached Odisha to speak to the concerned officers in connection with the Balasore triple train tragedy at Bahanaga Bazar railway station on June 2.
According to sources, the team reached Balasore Monday night but the CBI has not made any official statement in this connection so far.
“We haven’t registered a case in this matter as of now. We are examining the incident spot,” the source said.
“The CBI team is here to investigate the accident. They are doing their job. We cannot disclose any information about their investigation. They have a system of working. They will clear all evidence and details from the spot,” said Aditya Kumar Choudhury, chief public relation officer (CPRO), South Eastern Railway.
The Railway Board had on Sunday recommended for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the train accident.
“The way this accident happened, looking at the conditions, and according to the administrative information, the Railway Board is recommending the probe to the CBI,” Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said on Sunday.
Vaishnaw came under fire from the Opposition parties which are demanding his resignation. The Opposition has been citing several reports and audits that highlighted the lapses on the part of Railways.
On Sunday, Railway Safety Commissioner Shailesh Kumar Pathak visited the accident site and also recorded the statements of a few persons.
Meanwhile, speaking to the media, Khurda Road Railway DRM Rinkesh Roy said, “The train accident occurred due to a change in electronic interlocking. But, after talking to the loco pilot and assistant loco pilot of Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, one of the trains involved in the accident, it was revealed that they received a green signal.”
He suspected that there could be “deliberate tampering” with the signaling system.
In one of the horrific tragedies, at least 275 people died while over 1,000 were injured when 21 coaches of two – Coromandel Express and SMVP-Howrah Superfast Express — and a goods train collided and derailed on Friday evening near Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Odisha’s Balasore.
(With IANS inputs)
