In 10 Points: Odisha tragedy, CBI probe recommendation faces protest and more

In a tragic turn of events train services have finally resumed after the horrific triple train accident that claimed over 288 lives and left more than 1000 injured Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday waved at passengers and crew praying for their safe journey The accident which took place in Balasore Odisha has prompted a call for a CBI inquiry by the railways However Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge criticized the move stating that the CBI should investigate crimes not railway accidentsHere are ten key pointsServices resumed Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday waved at passengers and crew and prayed for their safe journey as services resumed following repair of the damaged tracks on both the up and down lines 51 hours after the horrific triple train accidentCBI probe recommended On June 4 hours after minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the ldquoroot causerdquo of the accident and the people behind the ldquocriminalrdquo act have been identified the railways sought a CBI inquiry into the Balasore train crashCongress president hits out at govt Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Odisha railway tragedy saying all the empty safety claims of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw have now been exposed and the government must bring to light the real reasons that caused this grave accident In his letter to Modi Kharge hit out at the Railway minister for seeking a CBI probe saying the law enforcement agency is meant to investigate crimes not railway accidentsTrain passes through accident site The first highspeed passenger train HowrahPuri Vande Bharat Express after the triple train accident passed through Balasore on Monday morning on restored tracks officials told PTI Vande Bharat Express crossed the Bahanaga Bazar Station around 930 am on Monday they saidNo intention to hide death toll Odisha Chief Secretary PK Jena said his government has no intention to hide the deaths in the Balasore train crash and the entire rescue operation was being conducted in full public view Reacting to allegations that the death toll figure was being manipulated he said Odisha believes in transparency reported PTIMamata raises questions West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee questioned the death figures given by the Ministry of Railways in the triple train crash in Odishas Balasore stating that 61 people from her state were dead and 182 were still missing Banerjee also asked questions on whether Vande Bharat engines were up to the markMinisters visit hospital Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya along with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Cabinet Minister Dharmendra Pradhan visited the injured victims of the triple train accident in Cuttack on Sunday According to officials the Union ministers met the injured passengers at the Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital in CuttackErdogans tweet President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday tweeted to express his grief over the tragic triple train accident On behalf of myself and my nation I offer my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the train accident in Odisha India as well to the people and the government of India We wish a speedy recovery to the injured We stand by India as it mourns the loss of lives in the tragic accident Erdogan tweetedPossible sabotage The railways on Sunday virtually ruled out driver error and system malfunction indicating a possible ldquosabotagerdquo and tampering of the electronic interlocking systemUK Foreign Secretarys comment James Cleverly Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom has expressed condolences to the families of the victims of the Odisha train accident ldquoTragic news of the train crash in India My heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims My thoughts are with the survivors and emergency servicesrdquo said Cleverly Lord Tariq Ahmad the UK Foreign Office Minister for South Asia who has just returned from a visit to India also took to social media over the weekend to express his solidarityWith inputs from news agencies including PTI