Odisha train mishap: CBI files chargesheet against three railway officials

Senior Section Engineer (Signal) Arun Kumar Mahanta, Section Engineer Mohammed Amir Khan and Technician Pappu Kumar were placed under suspension by the Railways after they were arrested by the CBI.

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday filed a chargesheet against three arrested railway officials in connection with the horrendous Balasore train accident, which claimed the lives of at least 293 passengers.

Following the country's fourth deadliest train mishap, the Centre had asked the CBI to conduct an investigation into the mishap, which occurred on Friday, June 2.

Senior Section Engineer (Signal) Arun Kumar Mahanta, Section Engineer Mohammed Amir Khan and Technician Pappu Kumar were placed under suspension by the Railways after they were arrested by the CBI. The three accused have been booked under IPC Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence), and under Section 153 of the Railways Act.

As many as 293 people were killed and over 1,200 injured when the ill-fated Coromandel Express crashed into a stationary freight train at Bahanaga Bazar station in the Balasore district of Odisha, and some of its derailed coaches collided with Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the mishap spot, a day after the accident and had assured that the guilty would not be sparred. The Prime Minister also met with the injured at various hospitals and the Centre announced an ex-gratia for the kin of the deceased.