Bhubaneswar. In the Coromandel Express accident that took place on June 2, 2023 near Bahanaga Bazar railway station in Balasore, the Railways has suspended seven railwaymen. 293 passengers were killed while more than 1,200 were injured when the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express collided with a goods train after the Coromandel Express collided here. The CBI, which is probing the case so far, arrested three railway employees.
The new GM of South Eastern Railway, Anil Kumar Mishra told that the matter of negligence has come to light in the investigation of CRS. Had the railway workers been alert, the accident could have been avoided. The GM, after visiting the accident site, said that till now seven employees have been suspended by the Railways, including the three arrested by the CBI. He did not disclose the names of the employees.
However, it goes on to say that the CBI probing the accident has arrested Senior Section Engineer Arun Kumar Mahant, Section Engineer Mohammad Amir Khan and Technician Pappu Kumar. By presenting him in the court on Wednesday, the CBI has taken remand for four more days for questioning. All three were produced in the court on Tuesday.
Earlier, in the investigation of the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), it was revealed that the accident occurred due to tampering in the signaling circuit at the northern signal tower of the station. On June 2, the Coromandel Express running from Howrah collided with a goods train standing on the loop line. At the same time, the derailed coaches of the Coromandel Express collided with the coaches of the Bengaluru-Howrah Express passing by.