The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) found the missing Soro Section Signal junior engineer(JE) Amir Khan on June 20 and began their questioning regarding the train tragedy. It is a significant development in the investigation of the Odisha triple train accident.
Earlier, CBI sealed the rental home of the signal JE on June 19. As per the reports, a CBI team arrived at JE Amir Khan’s rental home on June 19 and discovered that it was locked and found that JE and his family were missing. The rental house is located near Annapurna Rice Mill in Soro municipality under Balasore district, Odisha. After seeing the JE’s house locked, the CBI sealed it.
Before reaching his residence, the CBI officials questioned Khan about the incident at an undisclosed location. But after locating him, the CBI questioned the JE again regarding the train tragedy. In the interim, as a part of the investigation, the CBI officials also visited the house of the Bahanaga station master.
Organiser.org earlier reported on the possibility of sabotage in the Odisha Train Tragedy and wrote, “Recently, we have seen a pattern of targeting public transport, especially the Indian Railways and its properties. For instance, on several occasions, Vande Bharat trains have been attacked and damaged on different routes. The Investigators may want to look upon the possibilities of Sabotage vis-a-vis active indulgence of radicals supported by the International Terrorists Organisations such as Al- Qaida and their outfits in India.”
Notably, in April 2023, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in the Parliament said that in the last five years (till 2022), a total of 334 cases of attacks/sabotages on trains had been registered in the country. According to the data, out of the 334 cases of attacks on trains in the last five years, 83 were reported in 2018, 66 in 2019, 45 in 2020, 59 in 2021 and 81 in 2022. Notably, at least nine incidents resulted in the derailment of trains.
On June 1, 2023, within two months of the infamous Elathur train arson attack case, a parked train was set ablaze in Kannur railway station in the wee hours. In April 2023, in a joint operation, Maharashtra Police and central intelligence apprehended the prime accused Shahrukh Saifi in the Kerala train fire incident, in which three people died and nine others were injured.
In March 2023, An incident of stone pelting on Vande Bharat Express train has been reported from West Bengal in which window panes of a coach of the high-speed train were damaged, Eastern Railway said in a statement. The incident was reported to have taken place near Farrakka in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal, late evening on Saturday. “This is a very unfortunate incident. It will be investigated,” Kausik Mitra, CPRO, Eastern Railway said. An inquiry has been ordered, the official added.
In February 2023, the Vande Bharat train was damaged after some thugs pelted rocks at it while it was en route to Dadhapara in Chhattisgarh. Stones smashed the train’s windows, causing extensive damage. On February 10, 2023, the Vande Bharat Express train, running between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam was attacked by ‘miscreants’ in Telangana.
On January 20, 2023, stones were pelted by unidentified miscreants on New Jalpaiguri-Howarh Vande Bharat Express in Bihar’s Katihar. On January 2, 2023, the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express was damaged only a few days after it began operation when stones were pelted at it in West Bengal’s Malda district.
Role of a Signal JE in Indian Railways
Signal Junior Engineer plays a crucial role in railways, as the person is responsible for ensuring the security of train operations. According to the Indian railways, a signal JE is in charge of maintenance and is responsible for “The installation and maintenance of all signalling and telecommunication equipment under his charge in a satisfactory and safe condition”, such as signals, track circuits, point machines, and interlocking systems.
JE is also responsible for the “Preparation of plans and estimates and safe execution of works in his charge” and “Ensuring that all important inspection notes of higher authorities receive prompt action” etc. Overall, JE has a critical role in facilitating the smooth operations of trains.
The tragic train accident killed 292 people and injured nearly 1,100 in what was the worst accident suffered by the public transporter since 1995. The tragic incident that took place on June 2 involved the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, the Howrah-bound Shalimar Express and a goods train.
According to the railway officials, the triple train tragedy was a result of “deliberate interference with the electronic interlocking system”. The Divisional Railway Manager (DRM)of Khurda, Rinkesh Roy, told Times of India, “You get green signal only after fulfilling all the pre-conditions such as whether the route is set and everything is right. Even if there is a minor problem, technically, there cannot be a green signal in any circumstance; it becomes red. It can’t go green unless and until someone has tampered with it, someone has physically tampered with it”. Even Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the accident occurred due to a “change in electronic interlocking”.
Electronic interlocking is an arrangement of signal apparatus that prevents conflicting movements between trains through an arrangement of tracks. It is basically a safety measure to prevent signals from being changed in improper sequence. The aim of this system is that no train gets the signal to proceed unless the route is proven safe.
The probe of the tragic Odisha train accident was recommended to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The investigation agency registered the case on June 6. As per the statement given by a senior CBI official, “A team of CBI with experts will investigate to find out if it was a deliberate attempt to derail the Coromandel Express or it was human error. Team is camping at the site”.
The CBI intervened in this case after the claims of tampering with the electronic interlocking system were raised by the concerned officials, which caused the accident.
Meanwhile, the Bhubaneswar municipal corporation has sent 30 DNA samples collected from visitors to AIIMS in New Delhi for identification of the victims.
