In a strange revelation, a total of 111 Enquiry Committees were formed in three Railway Zones viz Western Railway, East Coast Railway and West Central Railways during the last seven years. Of these 51 Enquiry Committees were formed by Western Railways at Mumbai, 37 by East Coast Railways Bhubaneshwar and 23 by West Central Railways Jabalpur since January 1, 2010.
In Western Railways, in 24 cases, the accident was found to be the result of careless driving of vehicles while in three cases it was found to be an act committed by miscreants. One derailment was ascribed to bursting of clouds. In five cases a total of seven personnel were dismissed from service while two were given compulsory retirement, while in 16 others cases, smaller punishments were given.
This fact has emerged from the RTI information provided by these three Railway zones to activist Nutan Thakur. Nutan had sought from the Railway Ministry details of enquiry committees formed for train accidents, which was transferred to various zones, of which three Zones have given the reply. The other 13 zones are yet to respond the information sought by the applicant.
In East Coast Railways, in 19 cases no railway staff was held responsible, in two cases charges were later dropped, in one case personnel was counselled while in two cases, a total of three personnel were dismissed from service. Hirakhand express derailment in Kuneru (AP) is being investigated by National investigation Agency.
In West Central Railways, in 13 cases various punishments ranging from censure to dismissal from services in two cases were awarded while in 10 cases, no railway staff was found responsible for the accident.