Odisha Train Tragedy: Railways disburses compensation to kin of 661 victims

The Ministry of Railways has disbursed compensation of Rs 22.66 crore so far to the families of 661 victims in connection with the Balasore train tragedy, informed South Eastern Railway, CPRO, Aditya Kumar Chaudhary on Friday.

"The kin of the deceased and those severely injured in the tragic train mishap have received the compensation. Necessary steps are being taken to identify the remaining deceased and provide ex-gratia announced by Railways," Chaudhary added.

Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has intensified its probe into the triple train accident at Bahanaga Bazar station that claimed 288 lives and left over 1000 people injured.

Speaking to OTV, Aditya Kumar Chaudhary, CPRO, South Eastern Railway said, “I do not have the authority to reveal about the investigation process of the CBI. The CBI is doing its work and I cannot give any information.”

“The CBI team has spread across and is probing from all angles,” he added.

Earlier, there were reports that CBI had seized the mobile phones of some railway staff, who were on duty, on the fateful day. As part of the investigation, the CBI is examining the call records, WhatsApp chats and calls and social media of the staff.

The probing agency, which has been entrusted with the probe, has been visiting different places to find evidence with the help of forensic and technical teams.