Composite negligence by railway authorities led to 2023 Balasore train accident: Orissa HC
The court, however, granted conditional bail to three railway officials arrested for alleged negligence that led to the accident.
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The 2023 train accident in Balasore that claimed 293 lives occurred due to “composite negligence” by the railway authorities, said the Orissa High Court on Tuesday, reported The Hindu.
A single-judge bench of Justice Aditya Kumar Mohapatra stated that the authorities failed in the upkeep, maintenance, and proper functioning of the signal system at the Bahanaga Road station.
Mohapatra, however, granted conditional bail to three railway officials arrested for alleged negligence, saying there was no conclusive evidence to suggest that they were completely responsible for it.
On June 2, 2023, two coaches of the Yesvantpur-Howrah Express derailed near the Bahanaga Road railway station in Balasore. The derailed coaches came in the path of the speeding Coromandel Express on the adjoining track and collided with it. A goods train was also hit in the process.
Over 900 persons were injured in one of India’s worst train accidents.
Subsequently, the Union Ministry of Railways attributed the accident to lapses in the signalling circuit alteration carried out at the North Signal Goomty of the station, among other reasons.
A goomty is a small cabin or shelter at railway stations and level crossings, typically used to house fixed equipment like lever frames or signalling devices.
On June 6, 2023, the Central Bureau of Investigation took over the investigation into the accident. The central agency arrested the three railway officials...
