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CBI probes aid fraud, quizzes man ‘killed’ in train accident
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has begun a probe into the compensation granted to the family of a purported victim of the 2010 Gyaneswari Express accident after an investigation by the vigilance department of the South-Eastern Railway found that the man was alive
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has begun a probe into the compensation granted to the family of a purported victim of the 2010 Gyaneswari Express accident after an investigation by the vigilance department of the South-Eastern Railway found that the man was alive.
The alleged victim, Amritava Chaudhury, a resident of Jorabagan area of central Kolkata, was declared dead along with 147 others in the aftermath of the accident that claimed 148 lives and left nearly 200 people injured.
His sister, Mahua Gupta, was granted a government job and his family received the monetary compensation, CBI officials said.
On May 28, 2010, a goods train hit five compartments of the Mumbai-bound Gyaneswari Express that landed on the adjacent railway tracks after 13 of the compartments derailed in West Midnapore district of West Bengal.
The accident happened during a four-day strike of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and it was suspected that members of the banned outfit removed a portion of the tracks, leading to the derailment. A probe was conducted by the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and a few arrests were made.
Many bodies of the victims were damaged beyond recognition. While the identification process went on for years which included DNA tests, families of the many of the victims alleged that the bodies of their relatives were claimed and cremated by others.
According to a CBI official, the people involved in the fraud produced DNA samples that matched with the members of Chaudhury’s family to claim the compensation of ₹2 lakh and a government job announced by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Mamata Banerjee, who was then the Union railway minister, also announced ₹5 lakh each for these families while the state government announced a compensation of ₹3 lakh.
“Efforts are on to ascertain whose body was handed over to the Chaudhury family,” another official said. It wasn’t immediately clear if Chaudhury was travelling on the train at the time of the accident.
Chaudhury, along with his father Mihir Chaudhury, were questioned by the CBI at Nizam Palace on Sunday afternoon.
Following his interrogation, Chaudhury said he is ready to return the compensation and his sister would resign from the government job. “I have been framed,” he told reporters.
CBI officials suspect that railway employees were also involved in the fraud and have filed a case.
On receiving a complaint that the man is alive, the vigilance department of the railways conducted a probe and finding substance in the allegation, referred the matter to the CBI, an official said, according to news agency PTI.
