Two weeks after Balasore, Odisha triple-train tragedy: A status report

It has been over two weeks since the Balasore train tragedy that led to the loss of over 290 lives and left over 1,000 injured. Probes being carried out by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are yet to pinpoint the exact reason that led to the triple train crash in Odisha.

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The Federal gives you the lowdown of what has happened in the two weeks since one of India’s deadliest train disasters.

What is the headway in probe?

1. Five railway employees, including the station master of Bahanaga Bazar, Odisha, are under the lens in the CRS probe being conducted to find out the reason that led to the train crash.

2. The four other employees are into signalling-related job and were on duty at the time of the accident. Any further action against them would depend on the CRS probe report.

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3. The CBI has sealed the Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Odisha to probe the train crash and it will remain sealed till the investigation is over.

4. The CBI has questioned six railway employees, including former assistant station master SB Mohanty, and also seized their mobile phones for further investigations.

5. According to a senior CBI officer, the call records, including those made via WhatsApp, and social media usage of the three people will be examined as part of the investigation.

6. CBI is expected to also question Gunanidhi Mohanty, the loco pilot of the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express who is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar.

7. Railway Ministry officials have indicated a possible manual tampering of the interlocking system, which turned the signal for the Coromandel Express to green and guided it to the loop line where it collided with a stationary goods train.

8. An interference with the interlocking system, which is an automated signalling system, is being seen as the major cause of the accident.

9. Three possible scenarios are being probed — whether the tampering of the system was intentional or by mistake or a consequence of maintenance work underway in the area.

10. The CBI and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) will collect evidence from the accident site, obtain documents from the railway ministry, and conduct examinations of the victims, railway staff, rescuers, local administration, and eyewitnesses, to ascertain the cause behind the crash.

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Any conspiracy theories doing the round?

1. A preliminary inquiry had flagged tampering with the electronic interlocking system, and officials suspected “sabotage” behind the accident, which led the Ministry of Railways to call in for a CBI probe into the accident.

2. The accident in which a speeding Coromandel Express crashed into a stationary goods train on the loop line instead of travelling on the main line indicated issues with the electronic interlocking system which changed the route of the train and led to the collision.

3. “Unless there is deliberate interference in the system, it is impossible that a route set for the main line is switched to the loop line,” said a railway official, pleading anonymity.

4. Sources said there was “deliberate interference” in the system and that information came to the fore during the initial investigation by a professional agency.

5. Incidentally, railway officials didn’t resent a CBI probe at a time when the CRS investigation was already on, as they said the preliminary inquiry revealed the need for a thorough probe by a professional investigative agency.

Death toll

1. The death toll in the Balasore train tragedy mounted to 291 after a passenger from Bihar succumbed to his injuries at SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack on June 17.

2. Of the 205 patients admitted at the SCB Medical College Hospital, 46 patients are still under treatment which included 13 patients in ICU. Of the 13 patients in ICU, the condition of three remains critical.

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Unidentified bodies

1. As many as 81 bodies remain unidentified at AIIMS Bhubaneswar. Multiple claimants have turned up for close to 30 bodies, the officials said. The hospital has sent 75 samples for DNA sequencing at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Delhi to identify bodies.

2. The authorities of AIIMS Bhubaneswar have written a letter to the CFSL to send the DNA sampling test report of at least 15 persons as their family members were eagerly waiting outside the hospital to take the body for the last 15 days.