(Posted from today's News Forum)
Railway accident enquiries in India - a sham? Veeresh Malik
28 May 2012, 11:52 AM IST

The collision of the Bengaluru bound Hampi Express on the...
more...

22nd of May 2012 with the rear of a goods train parked at Penukonda railway station in Andhra Pradesh brings to the fore again some serious issues in the way our authorities deal with such incidents. Typically, a minister accompanied by senior officials and sundry other flunkies reaches the accident site, makes some announcements about compensation and enquiries, and then it is back to business as usual.
A statutory enquiry is then conducted, demands are made for resignations and ignored, the enquiry is often under the charge of the same divisional railway manager in whose area the incident took place, and a report is filed. Corrective action, if any, usually consists of suspending or pulling up the ground level staff like the loco pilots and station masters. Nobody even touches the senior staff who are really responsible.
But the biggest flaw here is that from the very first moment, an incident involving loss of life and property is termed as an "accident", and the complete investigation is then skewed towards proving that it was an accident. Globally, in any such investigation, the first step taken is to search for evidence, if any, that a crime was committed. It is only after this possibility is eliminated, and it is not just a formality, that an investigation for an "accident" is carried out.
By all appearances, this was not an accident - it was pure murder due to lacunae in engine operating modalities and design pointed out as long as 6 years ago. And loading of dangerous and explosive substances in a passenger coach. Amongst other factors. Including faulty setting of lines permitting following trains to enter lines where other trans are already standing - and this is becoming a practice that is being tolerated.
So then, who decides whether this sort of an episode, mishap, collision, is a crime or not? As of now - nobody. The Indian Railways, in their infinite Raj era granted wisdom, under the auspices of the Railways Act, automatically designates murder and crime as "accident", and that's it.
Ideally, this investigation should be done by an independent third party agency, drawn from some other ministry. Like the NTSB in the US. In co-ordination with the local or central police forces. And if it is suspected that a collision like this one was a crime that caused death and damage to property, then a prosecution under the Indian Penal Code can be considered. Co-terminus with any Railway investigation under the Railway Act.
To give an example - in the case of the murder of two Indian fishermen on an Indian boat on the high seas by Italian mercenaries on an Italian flag ship called the ENRICA LEXIE, an enquiry and prosecution by the Kerala Police runs concurrently with an investigation by the central Government's Indian shipping authorities.
This Hampi Express collision took place in Andhra Pradesh. Some of the actions leading to the collision took place in Karnataka. Either of two the state police organisations can launch investigations. Indians have died, violently, in India. Why have the police not started an independent investigation? Are they waiting for a formal FIR? There is no law or rule that states that one incident can not be prosecuted under mutliple laws or acts prevailing, even on the basis of suo moto common knowledge.
Prima facie, to independent observers like this writer, there are major suspicions on the criminal liability of various people in the Indian Railways for matters like:-
# Operation of the WDP4 engine in Long Hood Forward (LHF) mode which go back to the ratification and type approval of this locomotive in the first case, all the way up to the Railway Board.
# Loading of two-wheelers with full tank of petrol into the parcel van and ladies compartment / disabled compartment of this train by the commercial staff on the stations en route.
# Incorrect practice of setting the lines in such a way that an incoming train is routed on to the same track that is already occupied.
It is very strange to note that the Andhra Pradesh Police, in whose juridiction this collision took place, is not launching its own investigation and prosecution on the incident, which has led to the violent death and possible murder of over 2 dozen Indians, in India.
If something like this had happened in another country, to Indians, we would have cried bloody murder. Here, in India, those responsible are themselves carrying out the investigation. Can anything be more tragic?