Balasore Train Accident: Railway Official Denies Media Reports Of Staff Absconding After Odisha Tragedy
The investigation into the train accident that occurred in Odisha was taken over by the CBI on June 6.
Indian Railways on Tuesday dismissed the media reports claiming that one of its staff is missing after interrogation by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the Odisha train accident.
Aditya Kumar Chaudhary, CPRO South Eastern Railway in a video statement said, "There are media reports claiming that Bahanaga Bazaar staff are absconding/missing. This is not factually right. All the staff is present and are part of the enquiry."
He further added that they are cooperating with the CBI and CRS teams.
Media reports published on Monda claimed that CBI sealed the rented house of a junior engineer (JE) after he was found absconding. The junior engineer was reportedly under the radar of the agency.
The CBI began its investigation into the Odisha Train tragedy on June 6. A team of CBI officials, along with forensic experts, which had reached Balasore district, started the probe immediately after the registration of the FIR at 2.15 PM on Tuesday, according to officials.
The central probe agency was roped in by the Ministry of Railways after a preliminary inquiry flagged tampering with the electronic interlocking system, which detects the presence of trains, and officials suspected “sabotage” behind the accident, PTI reported.
Odisha Train Accident
The death toll in the Balasore train accident rose to 292 on Sunday with a 24-year-old passenger from West Bengal succumbing to his injuries at a state-run hospital in Cuttack.
Altogether 287 people died on the spot in the triple train accident earlier this month and five others succumbed to their injuries in hospitals, while 1,208 were injured, PTI reported.
The Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Super Fast Express and a goods train were involved in the pile-up, now being described as one of India’s worst train accidents.
The Coromandel Express crashed into a stationary goods train, derailing most of its coaches around 7 pm on June 2 near the Bahanaga Bazar station.
A few coaches of the Coromandel Express whiplashed the last few coaches of the Bengaluru-Howrah Express which was passing by at the same time.
