Bhubaneswar (Odisha): In a major development in the tragic Odisha train mishap, the Railway Board has recommended a CBI probe into the tragedy in which at least 275 people were killed and over 1,000 injured.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw while speaking to the media on Sunday said, "Keeping everything into consideration especially the administrative information that we have received so far, the Railway Board has recommended a CBI probe in this entire case."
Giving details about the restoration work on the crash spot, Vaishnaw said the work related to the track has been completed and overhead wiring work is going on.
Earlier in the day, Vaishnaw had said the "root cause" of the Odisha accident and the "criminals" responsible for it have been identified. "It happened due to a change made in the electronic interlocking and point machine," he told reporters at the site of the accident in Balasore district.
A senior railway official who did not want to be identified said this kind of tinkering with the "logic" of the AI-based electronic interlocking system can only be "intentional" and ruled out any malfunction in the system. The minister also said that the Commissioner of Railway Safety has completed an investigation and the report is awaited.
The railways on Sunday said the Coromandel Express was "not over-speeding" and received the green signal to enter a loop line on which a goods train was stationary, virtually clearing its driver of any role behind the accident.
The crash involving Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express and Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express and a goods train occurred around 7 PM on Friday near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Balasore, about 250 km south of Kolkata and 170 km north of Bhubaneswar.
Also read: Odisha train tragedy: Sabotage angle surfaces, Vaishnaw says 'criminals' identified
