New Delhi: The CBI on Friday arrested three railway personnel in connection with the June 2 Balasore train accident that left 293 dead. This is the first arrest in the case after the central probe agency took over the probe.
The arrested are Senior Section Engineer (signal) Arun Kumar Mahanta, Section Engineer Mohammed Amir Khan and Technician Pappu Kumar, all posted in Balasore district, the officials said.
The accident took place near the Bahanaga Bazar station in the Balasore district of Odisha in which 293 people were killed -- 287 on the spot or brought dead to the hospital, while six succumbed to injuries in hospitals.
The accident involved three trains: the Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, and a stationary goods train.
The three have been arrested under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence), officials said.
The chief railway safety commissioner's investigation report said that the cause of the accident was the signal failure at the station.
The investigation found that the Coromandel Express, which was supposed to go on the main track, veered into the loop line and rear-ended the stationary goods train due to improper maintenance of the signal on the north side of the station and the nearby level crossing.
The report also indicated that the officers who were on duty at that time were responsible for the lapses.
