Odisha train accident: General Manager removed, Railways say won’t make probe report public

A month after Odisha's horrific Balasore triple train accident, Indian Railways has sacked South Eastern Railway General Manager Archan Joshi. The move comes just after the railways informed that it will not release the Commission for Railway Safety (CRS) report to ensure that there is no interference with the ongoing CBI investigation.

According to sources, the CRS in its report suggested that the accident occurred due to human error as officials on duty did not follow standard operating procedures for running trains. Anil Kumar Mishra has taken over as the Managing Director of Southern Eastern Railway after the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet gave him the nod.

An official statement read: ""South Eastern Railway General Manager Archana Joshi has been removed from her post following the Balasore train accident. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approves Anil Kumar Mishra to become the new CEO of South Eastern Railway.

South Eastern Circle CRS AM Chowdhury, who investigated the accident, submitted its report to the Railway Board on Thursday. According to a senior official, the railways will take into account both the CRS report and the CBI investigation and form an overall assessment of the incident.

The tragedy witnessed on June 2 claimed at least 291 lives and injured more than 1,000. These were Coromandel Express bound for Chennai, Shalimar Express bound for Howrah and a freight train. Meanwhile, 29 bodies of the 81 victims of the Balasore rail accident, which were kept at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, were identified on Thursday. Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Mayor Sulochana Das said the government has taken steps to hand over the identified bodies to the bereaved families at their native places.