CBI Investigates The Odisha Train Accident: Collects Evidence From Site

After the massive train accident took place at the Bahanaga Bazar railway station of Odisha, a team of CBI or Central Bureau of Investigation officials examined the site at which the accident took place. The team of CBI officials was also accompanied by some forensic experts who collected samples from the site as well.

The triple-train accident took place on 2nd June in which 3 trains collided with each other. This collision led to the derailment of several coaches of the trains. In this tragic triple-train accident around 300 people died while more than 900 were injured.

An investigation led by the CBI team

The team of CBI officials began its investigation from the site of the accident. The team first visited the derailed coaches of the Coromandel Express and the Yashwantpur-Howrah Express. 

A basic analysis and investigation of the damaged trains and derailed coaches suggested that the crash occurred because of a signaling error. To solidify its findings, the team of CBI officials also investigated and inquired about people at the Balasore railway station.

The tracks of the Bahanaga Bazar were quickly restored after the investigation. Around 70 trains passed the railway station after the massive accident took place at the spot. 

However, on 6th June, Tuesday, CBI re-registered the triple-train crash case under several sections of the Indian Penal Code. These sections were 337, 338,304 A, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. Apart from these sections of the Indian Penal Code, some provisions from the Indian Railways Act have also been invoked in this case.

The major problem caused by this tragic accident is the identification of dead bodies. Even though the CBI and India Railway team along with the forensic department has done a great job in handing over the bodies of the deceased to their families, there are around 80 bodies that are still unidentified.

These bodies are not claimed by anyone. Hence, more than 80 bodies are still in different hospitals and morgues of Bhubaneshwar which is the capital city of Odisha.

To identify the unclaimed bodies, CBI has taken the help of the national forensic department. The forensic department will try to identify the unclaimed dead bodies through DNA sampling.

In this process, people who are looking for their dead family members will have to submit their DNA samples. If the DNA samples of the family member and the dead body match, CBI will immediately hand over the body to the family member.

CBI has resorted to DNA matching because a huge number of people have died painfully in this accident. Due to this, most dead bodies are not recognizable anymore. 

There have been complaints and cases where family members were given the wrong dead bodies as mismatches have occurred between the bodies and those who claim them.

Furthermore, there are some cases in which multiple families are claiming a single dead body. This has created chaos and confusion in CBI as well as families as the CBI cannot hand over one dead body to multiple families.

To avoid such chaos and confusion, the CBI has finally resorted to the DNA sample match method. With the help of this method, CBI will hand over the deceased to their rightful family members avoiding mismatches and confusion.