It is, perhaps, the first time that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been asked to inquire into a train accident. But, then, it is not an ordinary accident that happened at Balasore in Odisha. Three trains were involved, a situation that compounded the tragedy manifold. It was obvious that the signal system did not function properly. When the first train got derailed, the second train should not have been allowed to move on the adjoining line. The locking system failed. There is no explanation for the involvement of the third train.
A statutory inquiry is a must in such cases. It is limited to finding out the cause of the accident. Essentially, it is to find out whether the accident was the result of human or mechanical failure. If it is a mechanical failure, it also needs to be ascertained why it happened and where it happened. The CBI was set up to look into charges of corruption against Central government employees. Over several decades, it was also entrusted with the responsibility of inquiring into other cases like murder, of course, only on the request of the state and Central governments. It does not on its own investigate such cases. When Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the CBI would inquire into the accidents, it was presumed that there was something more than met the eye in the incident. The first and foremost question is whether there was something sinister or not in what happened?
Did someone tamper with the rail system that allowed the derailing of the first train? Why did the safety systems not function when the Coromandel Express was given the green signal? In no case should the third train have been allowed to run. If someone did some mischief or if someone did not do his duty to let the accident happen, he or she should be identified and given the severest punishment. While the technical inquiry can continue, the CBI can simultaneously inquire into the nefarious role that could have been played by someone. Let the truth and nothing but the truth be unravelled.
