Odisha train accident: SER suspends seven employees

Principal Chief Safety Officer placed the seven under suspension for dereliction of duty

| Updated: 12 July, 2023 9:17 pm IST
More than 290 people were killed in the accident (File Photo)

BALASORE, ODISHA: South Eastern Railway suspended seven employees in connection with the horrific accident involving three trains in Odisha’s Balasore.

The incident that occurred near Bahanaga Bazaar railway station claimed the lives of more than 293 people and 1,175 people were injured.

“Principal Chief Safety Officer (PCSO) placed the seven staff under suspension for dereliction of duty after the CBI probe team arrested three of them, so far,” South Eastern Railway (SER) General Manager Anil Kumar Mishra said today.

ALSO READ: Odisha train tragedy: CBI arrests three railway employees

“Railway Administration took the step for lack of alertness of Bahanaga Bazaar station master, traffic inspector and maintainer. The tragic train mishap could have been averted had they been alert during duty hours,” Mishra said.

Mishra, along with Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) and MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi, visited the Bahanaga Bazaar and Gopinathpur railway stations earlier in the day.

ALSO READ: Warning ignored? Serious signalling system flaws exposed months before Odisha train tragedy

Meanwhile, senior section engineer (Signal) Arun Kumar Mahanta, section engineer Mohammed Amir Khan and technician Pappu Kumar, who are arrested in the case, have been taken on another four-day remand by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), following the end of a five-day remand.

An inquiry report of the Commissioner of Railway Safety, South Eastern Circle, mentioned that the tragic train accident occurred due to lapses in the signalling circuit alteration, which was carried out earlier.

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