Balasore/New Delhi, June 4
The railways on Sunday sought a CBI inquiry into the Balasore train crash, hours after minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the “root cause” of the accident and the people behind the “criminal” act have been identified.
Railway officials also indicated that possible “sabotage” and tampering with the electronic interlocking system, which detects the presence of trains, led to the Friday accident.
However, several opposition parties stepped up pressure for Railway Minister Vaishnaw’s resignation, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge calling for fixing accountability from top to bottom.
The BJP hit back, saying the track record of the Congress-led UPA government’s railway ministers was nothing short of a disaster and they should not politicise the issue.
