July 8 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has reported the arrest of three railway workers in connection with the serious train accident that occurred on June 2 in Balasore, in the Indian state of Odisha, and in in which 293 people died and more than a thousand were injured.
These are the first arrests related to the accident and come after preliminary findings pointed to human error as the cause of the accident. Among the detainees are the engineer Arun Kumar Mohanta, the engineer Mohammad Amir Jan and the technician Pappu Kumar, reports the newspaper ‘The Times of India’.
The arrests are referenced under sections 304 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalize destruction of evidence and culpable homicide.
The three detainees will go to court this Saturday and may begin to be questioned. In addition, the 90-day period for the presentation of charges begins.
The accident was thus due to the negligence of several managers who did not comply with safety procedures, particularly after the design changes made three years ago, according to the preliminary report leaked to the press. The report has not yet been officially published so as not to influence the criminal investigation.
Those indicated belong mainly to the signaling department, but there are also managers who did not report the changes made to the design.
Three trains, two passenger and one freight, collided on June 2 at the Bansalore station in Odisha. Since the accident, calls have multiplied to improve the rail network, much of it installed in colonial times, and to install crash prevention systems.
