The CBI last week arrested three railway employees over the June 2 Balasore train accident that claimed 294 and booked them under IPC Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence).
The agency has not invoked Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) against the accused, which shows it has no evidence of sabotage at this stage. The three are senior section engineer (signal) and in charge at Balasore Arun Kumar Mahanta, Mohammad Amir Khan, a section engineer at Soro, and technician Pappu Kumar.
While CBI remained tight lipped, a faulty repair work on a signalling device located just ahead of the accident site at Bahanaga Bazar station shortly before the crash is being probed as a possible reason for the triple-train crash.
The CBI’s findings tie in with a joint inspection report that the railways prepared immediately after the accident as well as findings of the Commissioner of Rail Safety which submitted its report last week.
Significantly, Mahanta, who was part of the team that prepared joint inspection report, had given a note of dissent to its preliminary findings that diagnosed faulty signalling as the probable cause for the tragedy.
Sources said that use of the IPC sections shows that the troika had the knowledge that their negligence would result in an accident but had no intent to cause one. They would have been charged with murder if the investigation had established intent. The charge of destruction of evidence has been slapped because the accused allegedly tried to cover their tracks after the accident, sources said.