Indus Valley Times

By Sudam Patra

Balasore, July 8: The Central Bureau Investigation (CBI) officials on Saturday intensified its probe into the devastating Bahanga train tragedy as it grilled for hours the three persons of Indian Railways it had arrested on Friday at Chandaka Police Station here in the city.

As many as 293 persons had died in the mishap and over 900 were injured.

The three railway officials who were arrested on Friday included Arun Kumar Mahanta (senior section engineer-signal), Mohammed Amir Khan (section engineer) and Technician Pappu Kumar. They were posted in Balasore, a nearby station of Bahanaga Bazar Station where the train crash took place on July 2 evening.

According to sources, a five-member team of the central probe agency reached Chandaka Police station in the morning and interrogated the officials who have been found responsible for the mishap.

The three Railway staff have been arrested under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The trio has been kept at the Chandaka Police Station instead of the CBI office owing to security arrangements, sources informed, adding, the probe agency had also summoned another railway employee in connection with the case.

After apprehending the trio, the CBI produced the accused before the court and sought seven-day remand for questioning.

However, the Special Court in Bhubaneswar granted five days of remand to CBI.

Earlier this week, the inquiry report of the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), South Eastern Circle stated that the deadly train mishap occurred due to lapses in the signaling circuit alteration carried out at the North Signal Goomty (of the station) in the past.

The triple train accident involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, and a goods train laden with iron ore on June 2 at Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore claimed over 293 lives.