Odisha train crash: CBI begins probe, quizzes local railway officials
Investigating agency registers case after preliminary investigation
By Nalini Sahu
Bhubaneswar, June 7: The Central Bureau of (CBI) on Tuesday visited Bahanaga in Odisha’s Balasore district and launched its nvestigation into the devastating train crash that left 288 passengers killed and more than 900 others injured.
According to reports, as many as 10 members of the CBI team inspected the main line on which the 2841 Shalimar – Chennai Coromandel Express was running and the loop line where a goods train was standing. The team also visited the station master’s office at Bahanaga Station Bazar and examined the technical and other details. The investigation officers also questioned the signal-room personnel to know how the 2841 Shalimar – Chennai Coromandel Express which was given green signal on mainline entered the loop line that led to collision with stationary goods train
After nearly four hours of investigation at the accident spot, the CBI registered a formal case with regard to the incident.
“The CBI has registered a case on the request of ministry of railways, consent of the Odisha government and further orders from department of personnel and training (DoPT) of the Government of India relating to the train accident involving Coromandel Express, Yashwantpur-Howrah Express and a goods train at Bahanaga Bazar in Odisha on June 2, 2023. The agency has taken over the investigation of the case earlier registered at Balasore GRPS on June 3, 2023 regarding the said accident,” an official CBI release said.
Meanwhile, the state government on Tuesday again announced a revised death toll of 288.
“After an elaborate verification of records and taking information from all concerned and after conducting two rounds of combing of the tracks and nearby, 288 deaths have been confirmed. As many as 205 bodies have been identified and handed over to their family members. At least 83 more bodies are yet to be identified,” state chief secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena said.
Reports from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Bhubaneswar said the hospital had handed over 66 bodies of the accident victims to their family members after proper identification and 57 more corpses were still to be identified. Most of the bodies have been preserved in a container.
“Family members and relatives of the deceased persons who have arrived here to claim bodies of their loved ones are being extended all possible support. We are handing over the bodies to them after proper identification and thorough police verification,” said AIIMS superintendent Prabhas Ranjan Tripathy.
Vijay Amritraj Kulange, Commissioner of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, said the DNA testing process had been started at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar in order to solve cases of multiple claims on certain bodies.
“We are coming across cases of multiple claims on certain bodies. To avoid the ambiguity, we have started DNA testing of the family members,” said Kulange.
East Coast Railways chief public relations officer (CPRO) Biswajit Sahoo said the Indian Railways had provided a total Rs 6.9 crore to next of the kin of the train crash victims.
