BHUBANESWAR: A team of CBI officials on Tuesday searched the house of a junior engineer (signal) posted at Soro under South Eastern Railway (SER) in connection with the Odisha train tragedy. Accompanied by the signal JE, whose name has been withheld due to the ongoing probe, the investigating team spent over six hours in his rented house and tried to dig out if the train crash was an outcome of any act of sabotage.
Though he was seen being questioned inside the house, it was not immediately known whether the CBI officials seized any document or any undiscriminating material. The five-member team locked the house and left the place at about 4.30 pm along with the section engineer. A native of West Bengal, the junior engineer was staying in a rented accommodation at Kanrpur in Soro. He and his team used to maintain the signal in the section.
Earlier, the CBI had picked up five railway officials, including the section engineer, an assistant station manager and three other staff of the signal department for questioning in connection with the incident. Even as the preliminary investigations by the railways indicated that the accident was due to negligence on the part of signal maintainers and the on-duty station manager, the Railway Board handed over the matter to CBI suspecting sabotage.
Sources said, four signal maintainers, including the section engineer, had come to Bahanaga for maintenance on the fateful day on June 2. As per protocol, though they were supposed to test the signal in coordination with the on-duty station manager after maintenance, they had left the place before proper testing of the signal and electronic signalling system, said the sources.
The CBI is trying to find out whether it was deliberate or sheer negligence as it was initially claimed. While the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) is yet to submit the inquiry report, no arrest has been made by the CBI so far.
Meanwhile, chief public relations officer of SER Aditya Kumar Chaudhary clarified that no railway official is absconding or missing. All staff related to the Bahanaga train incident are present and appearing before the investigating agency as and when required, he said.