Is there a massive attempt being made at hiding the real cause?
Was the recent Balasore accident a human failure, a criminal act, or a systems failure?
Report by Kamgar Ekta Committee (KEC) correspondent
The country is still recovering from the effects of the triple train collision in Odisha on June 2 that has grievously affected thousands of people directly. On June 3, even as bodies were still being recovered, the Railway Minister declared he knew who (not what) was responsible for the disaster. On June 4, even before the Commissioner of Railway Safety submitted his report, the Minister announced that the investigations had been handed over to the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation).
Is this behaviour not immensely questionable? How did the Railway Minster come to this conclusion even before experts on railway safety had determined the cause? Mind you, the CBI is supposed to be an expert at criminal detection. It is not an expert on the technical aspects of railway safety.
Further questions arise if we remember the events of just a few years back:
- Nov 20, 2016: Indore-Patna Express derails near Kanpur. Over 150 people lose their lives.
- Jan 23, 2017: The then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu writes to Union Home Minister asking for NIA (National Investigation Agency) probe into this accident.
- Feb 24, 2017: PM says Kanpur train accident is a conspiracy.
- Oct 21, 2018: Newspapers report that NIA will NOT file any charge sheet in the derailment.
- June 2023: Still no official news on the NIA final report on Kanpur derailment.
More than six and a half years back, over 150 people lost their lives. The PM declared that it was a result of a conspiracy. After six and a half years, this claim has not been substantiated. Doesn’t this mean that no evidence has been uncovered of any conspiracy?
Is there a way to hold these authorities to account for the statements they make?
Are we seeing history being repeated? A similar claim is being made in the recent case, when double the number of people has lost their lives.
Is this not a cover up for systems failure?