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Business News/ News / India/  CBI takes over Balasore crash case
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CBI takes over Balasore crash case

In accordance with the established procedure, the CBI took over the Balasore GRP case number 64, which was initially registered by the Odisha Police on 3 June.

CBI team had reached at the Balasore train accident site involving the Coromandel Express, Yashwantpur-Howrah Express and a goods train at Bahanaga Bazar. (Photo: Reuters)Premium
CBI team had reached at the Balasore train accident site involving the Coromandel Express, Yashwantpur-Howrah Express and a goods train at Bahanaga Bazar. (Photo: Reuters)

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday officially took over the investigation into Odisha’s Balasore train crash, which claimed the lives of 278 people. Earlier in the day, the CBI team had reached at the Balasore train accident site involving the Coromandel Express, Yashwantpur-Howrah Express and a goods train at Bahanaga Bazar.

“The CBI has registered a case on the request of ministry of railways, consent of the Odisha government and further orders from DoPT relating to the train accident involving Coromandel Express, Yashwantpur-Howrah Express and a Goods train at Bahanaga Bazar in the state of Odisha on 2 June, 2023," the CBI said in a statement. 

In accordance with the established procedure, the CBI took over the Balasore GRP case number 64, which was initially registered by the Odisha Police on 3 June. The case has been filed under multiple IPC sections, such as those concerning causing hurt, endangering lives through rash or negligent action, and common intention. 

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

The decision to involve the CBI was prompted by findings from a preliminary probe that suggested “deliberate interference" in the signaling system, necessitating a thorough investigation by a professional agency.

Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who has been overseeing the restoration work at the crash site, announced on Sunday evening that a CBI probe had been recommended into the accident.

Earlier speculations of sabotage and tampering with the electronic interlocking system, which detects train presence, had surfaced as potential causes for the collision involving the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, and a goods train.

The railway minister has also said that based on preliminary investigation showed that the accident on Friday happened due to a change in electronic interlocking. “Who has done it and what is the reason will come out of after an investigation,“ he had told news agency ANI.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that strictest action will be taken against those found guilty.

It may be recalled that on Friday evening the Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express colluded with a stationary goods train after entering a loop line, diverting from the main line for which green signal was available. The train at that time was runing at a speed of 128 km/hr. This collision resulted in carriages derailing and ending up on an adjoining track. The Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express coming from the opposite direction and moving at a speed of 126 km/hr then rammed into the coaches and was also derailed.

What seems to have happened is the following as per experts. First the goods train moved to loop line to allow the Coromandel Express to pass along the main line. After the goods train moved to loop line, the switch blades are supposed to move the track back, to let any new train approaching the station continue the main track itself. When the signal is green, a locking system ensures that the track has moved back to the original position. This locking system, it seems failed, preventing tracks to come back to the main position and this diverted Coromandel express to the loop line to hit iron ore filled goods train.

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Subhash Narayan
Subhash is the infrastructure editor at Mint and tracks the momentous developments taking place in the space that is fast changing the Indian landscape. He feels that reporting has been a passion that provides the necessary adrenaline rush and keeps you going.
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Published: 06 Jun 2023, 11:16 PM IST
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