Balasore: The commissioner of Railway Safety says the triple-train collision on June 2 took place owing to lapses in the signaling-circuit alteration carried out at the Bahanaga Bazaar station, which resulted in wrong signal to Coromandel Express; claims report submitted to Railway Minister, Railway Board.
The report said that lapses at multiple levels in the Signal and Telecommunication (S&T) department led to the train accident, which left 291 dead and more than 1200 injured. The Commissioner of Railway Safety, South Eastern Circle, AM Chowdhary had conducted the inquiry into the circumstances that led to the accident.
On an ill-fated day, the accident occurred at around 6:40 PM, the disconnection memo was issued at 4:20 PM for repair work to be carried out. On the same day, a reconnection memo was issued at 4:50 PM. The report revealed that the rear collision was due to lapses in the signalling-circuit-alteration carried out at the north signal goomty of the Bahanaga Bazaar station.
Meanwhile, the 12 opposition parties have demanded an independent inquiry into the deadliest rail accident by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the direct supervision of the Supreme Court. The parties said the alleged disappearance of 119 railway passengers from Bihar and West Bengal has made the situation critical with grave concerns emerging if there have been attempts to suppress the facts.