Odisha train accident: CBI registers case as team reaches Balasore for probe
On Sunday, union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the railway board sought a CBI probe into the accident over suspicions of a possible sabotage attempt
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the probe in the tragic three-train crash in Odisha’s Balasore district last Friday and a team reached the accident spot on Tuesday to investigate.
CBI has registered a case on the request of ministry of railways, consent of Odisha govt and further orders from DoPT. (PTI image)
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The agency, as reported by HT, will look at all possible reasons including human error or deliberate attempts to cause the accident.
“CBI has registered a case on the request of ministry of railways, consent of the Odisha government and further orders from DoPT (department of personnel and training) relating to the train accident involving Coromandel Express, Yashwantpur-Howrah Express and a goods train at Bahanaga Bazar in the state of Odisha on June 2,” said a CBI spokesperson.
The agency, the spokesperson added, has taken over the investigation of the case earlier registered at Balasore Government Railway Police (GRP), Cuttack (Odisha) case number 64 regarding the said accident.
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“A CBI team has reached Balasore (Odisha),” he said.
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“A CBI team has reached Balasore (Odisha),” he said.
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Railway authorities already expanded their probe and questioned the assistant station master and drivers of the two trains to ascertain how the worst rail accident in nearly three decades occurred.
Preliminary investigation by the railways identified a change in the interlocking and point machine, an intricate system of interconnected safety checks designed to keep trains from crossing each other’s paths, as the reason for the accident involving the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, the Howrah-bound Yesvantpur Express, and a freight train.
“However, CBI will look at all the angles, including human error, deliberate attempt to derail the Coromandel Express, and any external factors,” said an officer, who didn’t want to be named.
The accident occurred at Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha’s Balasore around 6:56pm on Friday, when the Coromandel Express rammed into a goods train bearing iron ore, the impact of the collision flinging several compartments into the adjacent track.
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A few of these coaches hit the last two cars of the Howrah-bound Yesvantpur Express, which was passing by on the opposite line at the same time.
On Sunday, union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the railway board sought a CBI probe into the accident over suspicions of a possible sabotage attempt.
The agency’s investigators and experts from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) are expected to pick up evidence from the accident site, documents from the railway ministry, and examine the victims, railway staff, rescuers, local administration and eyewitnesses to establish what exactly happened, said a CBI official on the condition of anonymity.
Neeraj Chauhan is a senior journalist with Hindustan Times and an investigative reporter specialising in national security, terrorism, organised crime, narcotics, corruption, financial crime and complex investigations. With over 21 years of experience across Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Pioneer, he has built deep expertise in India’s internal security and law-enforcement landscape. Neeraj has extensively covered India’s principal investigative, intelligence and security agencies, including the NIA, CBI, ED, IB, R&AW, MHA and other central security forces. His work has included deeply reported investigations into terrorism, terror financing, cross-border crime, narcotics trafficking, cybercrime, financial fraud and political and corporate corruption. He has reported on some of the most significant terror attacks and security developments in India over the past two decades, including the Delhi serial blasts, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and the recent Pahalgam attack. His reporting has also chronicled the rise and decline of the Indian Mujahideen, the activities and subsequent crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Islamist extremist networks, the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgencies in the Northeast and Maoist violence. Some of Neeraj’s major breaking stories are in Aryan Khan drug case, Sushant Singh Rajput suicide, interception of a 3,000-kg Afghan heroin consignment worth about ₹21,000 crore at Mundra port, Sri Lanka easter bombings, Aarushi-Hemraj murders in Noida, 2G scam, coal block allocation scam, AgustWestland VVIP chopper deal and major bank frauds and extradition cases involving Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. His reporting is marked by an ability to cultivate sources, analyse confidential and complex documents, and follow investigations over several years—from the initial breakthrough to chargesheets, trials and international legal proceedings. He specialises in making complicated security and investigative developments accessible while examining their wider implications for governance and public policy. A Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow at the University of Westminster, Neeraj also spent time at the Financial Times as part of the fellowship. He was also a Robert Bosch Media Ambassadors India-Germany Fellow, studying at the University of Tübingen and working with Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin. He has previously taught investigative journalism and crime reporting as a guest faculty member at the Times School of Journalism. Over more than two decades, Neeraj has established himself as an authoritative voice on India’s national security and investigative landscape, with his reporting closely followed by officials, investigators, lawyers, policymakers and readers seeking insight into some of the country’s most complex and consequential developments.
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