Cong slams Centre over CBI probe in train crash

New DelhiThe Congress on Tuesday slammed the government over the CBI probe into the Odisha railway tragedy, and termed the move as headlines management to divert attention from its own “failures”. The CBI has taken over investigation into the Balasore train accident and filed an FIR.

At a press conference, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said it has been over 96 hours since the accident took place but no accountability has been fixed. “How is it that there is no accountability, no responsibility. Instead of finding out what caused this grave accident in which almost 300 people died, the government is now spinning conspiracy theories. It is shifting focus from safety to all kinds of conspiracy theories like deliberate interference,” she told reporters.

At a time when the Railway Minister should resign by taking moral responsibility, new theories are being created to "divert" attention. There is not even an 'A' of accountability of this government, she asserted. The Congress spokesperson claimed that the Odisha train occurred due to interlocking and signal failure and also due to low track maintenance but the government is trying to divert attention.

The June 2 train crash in Odisha involving two passenger trains and a goods train killed 275 people and injured more than 1,100. Shrinate said the government had roped in the NIA to probe the 2016 Kanpur train accident as well but not a single proof was found by it. The NIA has also not been able to file the charge sheet in the train accident in Kuneru in Andhra Pradesh in which almost 40 people died, she said. “The very basic question is why should premium agencies like the CBI and NIA be roped into this because this is not their area of expertise. Why should the CRS not probe this accident. Why is the CRS being restricted to probe only 8-10 per cent rail accidents that have happened,” she asked.