Bhubaneswar: The Railway authorities have suspended seven employees on charges of negligence of duty which resulted in the horrific triple train collision near Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Odisha’s Balasore district on June 2. The accident claimed 294 lives, while over 1,100 were injured.
The suspended seven employees include the three accused arrested by the CBI and are currently on remand, informed South-Eastern Railway General Manager Anil Kumar Mishra.
The action against the seven Railway employees was taken following the visit of the new South-Eastern Railway GM and DRM to Bahanaga Bazar and Balasore railway stations on Wednesday. The top SER officials also visited Gopinathpur railway station and inspected the Balasore-Nilagiri section.
Meanwhile, the CBI took the three arrested railway employees – Senior Section Engineer (signal) Arun Kumar Mahanta, Section Engineer Mohammed Amir Khan, and Technician Pappu Kumar on another four-day remand.
It is worth mentioning here that the inquiry report submitted by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), South Eastern Circle, earlier this month pointed at several human lapses, including signaling issues, for the accident at Bahanga Bazar.
SER GM Anil Kumar Mishra said, “The CBI is investigating the causes that led to the accident. We are waiting for its report. Meanwhile, the Railways too have taken departmental actions against seven officials for neglecting their duties. It is believed that the accident could have been averted had they been more alert.”
