Worst Train Accident of the Century: Why CBI Enquiry???

[Sukla Sen]

[The CBI is meant to be weaponised, as has very much become the norm now, to fabricate some story -- to construct some "enemy" and drum up hatred as in the case of "corona jihad" -- to deflect attention from the CAG report detailing systemic neglect of the basic railway infrastructure and "safety".

Not to forget, during the pandemic India would be the only country in the world to have corpses floating in the rivers (and burnt in parking lots).

And this is the worst Indian railway accident of the century and the first time three trains have collided.

Hence, CBI!

All efforts would be focused on making us forget that "an accident of this kind had been foretold, as recently as February this year when a collision between two trains was averted at Hosadurga Road Station in the Birur-Chikjajur section of the Mysore Division of the Railways, thanks only to an alert loco pilot and the moderate speed of the train, which could be brought to a stop. The train had gone off its intended track, which was reported as a result of faulty signalling system and dangerous human intervention. An official record of that incident called for “immediate corrective actions... to rectify the system faults and also sensitizing the staff for not venturing into shortcuts”. The accident in Balasore, it now appears in a preliminary inquiry, followed the same disastrous sequence of mechanical failures and human errors [emphasis added]."

(Ref.: <https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/tragic-track-on-the-balasore-train-accident-and-corrective-measures-by-the-indian-railways/article66934720.ece>.)

And, of course: "Though the Railway Board – presumably at the government’s urging – has handed over investigations to the Central Bureau of Investigation, officials The Wire spoke to said sabotage can be ruled out as a cause of this accident. They say that only two persons have access to the signal relay room. “The station manager has one set of keys and the signal maintainer the second. The signal room can only be opened when both the locks are opened together. The room is a secure, heavily guarded room with no scope for outsiders to enter. And the relay can only be set from inside this room. Besides, only someone with knowledge of the signalling system can make a change to the switch. So sabotage is extremely difficult. And if an attempt is made to tamper with the wiring from the outside, the signal will turn red. A signal isn’t a fish plate that can be removed [emphasis added]," one railway official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Wire."

(Ref.: <https://m.thewire.in/article/government/train-crash-dissent-note-by-probe-panel-member-hints-at-coverup-experts-question-cbi-role>.)

And the poisonous conspiracy theories doing rounds in the social media: 

I. <https://youtu.be/nkrcFRqsl6Q>.

II. <https://www.indiatoday.in/fact-check/story/odisha-train-accident-bahanaga-bazar-station-officer-mohammed-sharif-2389078-2023-06-05>.]

https://twitter.com/Jairam_Ramesh/status/1665940782594007042

Even before the Commissioner of Railway Safety has submitted his report on Balasore train disaster, a CBI inquiry is announced. This is nothing but headlines management having failed to meet deadlines.

Ab yeh Chronology yaad kijiye 👇🏾

1. Nov 20, 2016:  Indore-Patna Express derails near Kanpur. Over 150 people lose their lives.

2. Jan 23, 2017: Then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu writes to Union Home Minister asking for NIA probe into this accident.

3. Feb 24, 2017: PM says Kanpur train accident is a conspiracy.

4. Oct 21, 2018: Newspapers report NIA will NOT file any chargesheet in the derailment.

5: June 6, 2023: Still no OFFICIAL  news on NIA final report on Kanpur derailment.  Zero accountability!