The Evening Wrap: Railways says 'signalling interference' behind Odisha train wreck

Signalling interference has been identified as the main cause of the devastating multi-train collision that took place in Odisha on June 2, the Railway Board said on June 4. The nature of this signalling interference, whether manual, incidental or due to any other reason, can only be revealed by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, who has been conducting a detailed investigation into the accident. The possibility of sabotage has not been ruled out, said Railway Board Member (Operation and Business Development) Jaya Verma Sinha, who added that the Ministry of Home Affairs was assisting the Board in these inquiries. Earlier in the day, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the CRS had finished its inquiry and would soon submit the report on the accident. He also said that the root cause of the collision had been identified as a problem in the electronic interlocking system and the people responsible for the error had also been identified. While the Railways have now narrowed down the cause of the accident to signalling, the probe is yet to declare whether the Coromandel Express first derailed on the main line and then hit the freight train parked on the loop line or had wrongly moved on to the loop line due to “signalling interference”, hit the freight train and then derailed. Meanwhile, the Odisha government climbed down from the previous death-toll of 288 to 275, stating that few bodies were counted twice. “The double count had taken place due to flurry of activities and stressed environment. Out of 275 bodies, 88 bodies have been identified and handed over to their relatives. Of the rest 187 bodies, 170 bodies have been shifted to Bhubaneswar,” Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena said. Railway officials said that most railway tracks have been cleared of wrecked railway coaches overnight by a team of bulldozers and cranes so that railway services on the main trunk line connecting eastern and southern India can be restored. Work on repairing tracks and overhead electric cables which had snapped was also going on, they added. Three-member Commission of Inquiry to probe ethnic violence in Manipur The Central government on June 4 appointed a three-member Commission of Inquiry headed by Ajai Lamba, former Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court, to probe the ethnic violence in Manipur, that has claimed 98 lives so far and displaced over 35,000 people. A notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that the “Commission shall submit its report to the Central Government as soon as possible but not later than six months from the date of its first sitting”. Its headquarters will be in Imphal. The other two members of the Commission are Himanshu Shekhar Das, retired IAS officer from the 1982 batch of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, and Aloka Prabhakar, a 1986 batch retired IPS officer of the Telangana cadre. On May 29, the Government of Manipur recommended the institution of a Judicial Inquiry Commission to look into the causes and associated factors of the crisis, and the unfortunate incidents that occurred on May 3. The terms of reference of the Commission said that it would inquire into the causes and the spread of the violence and riots targeting members of different communities, and the sequence of events and whether there were any lapses or dereliction of duty in this regard on the part of any of the responsible authorities and individuals. It would also probe if adequate administrative measures had been taken to prevent and deal with the violence and the riots, and to consider such matters as may be found relevant in the course of the inquiry. U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives in India on two-day visit U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in India on June 4 on a two-day visit to explore ways to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation, especially in areas of transfer of critical technologies for co-development of military hardware. His trip comes over two weeks ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington during which the two sides are expected to unveil initiatives to expand the India-U.S. global strategic partnership. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Austin are set to discuss in their talks on June 5, the General Electric’s proposal to share technology with India for fighter jet engines and New Delhi’s plan to procure 30 MQ-9B armed drones at a cost of over $3 billion from U.S. defence major General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc, besides other issues, people familiar with the matter said. China’s aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific as well as along the Line of Actual Control, and ways to combat the threat of terrorism are also likely to figure in the discussions between Singh and Austin. G20 | India proposes Global Medical Countermeasure ecosystem platform to set standards for public good India’s G-20 presidency is working towards building consensus for an end-to-end Global Medical Countermeasure (MCM) ecosystem following a network-to-network approach and leveraging existing global and regional initiatives, said Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare during her address at the 3rd Health Working Group meeting on June 4. She also urged the leadership of G20 countries to create an interim platform which will be guided by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) process and will feed into the same. Dr. Pawar highlighted the need for availability of safe, effective and quality medical countermeasures. Acknowledging the convergence between G7 and G20 priorities, including the launch of MCM Delivery Partnership during Japan’s G7 Presidency which aligns with G20’s proposal of an end-to-end MCM ecosystem, she urged the global community to strengthen ongoing efforts in that direction. Former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti issued passport after three years PDP president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has been issued a passport with 10-year validity, sources in Srinagar said on June 4. After a prolonged legal battle in the Delhi High Court, the passport was delivered. Her passport expired in 2019 and since then she had been seeking its renewal. The passport came two days ahead of a hearing in Jammu and Kashmir High Court where Mufti’s daughter Iltija’s plea challenging the decision of the passport office to give her a country-specific passport is to come up. The Delhi High Court in March this year had asked the passport authority to decide within three months on issuing a fresh travel document to the PDP chief. China warns ‘NATO-like’ alliances could lead to conflict in Asia-Pacific China’s Defence Minister warned against establishing NATO-like military alliances in the Asia-Pacific, saying they would plunge the region into a “whirlpool” of conflict. Li Shangfu’s comments came a day after U.S. and Chinese military vessels sailed close to each other in the flashpoint Taiwan Strait, an incident that provoked anger from both sides. “Attempts to push for NATO-like [alliances] in the Asia-Pacific is a way of kidnapping regional countries and exaggerating conflicts and confrontations,” Li told a security conference in Singapore, also attended by U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. Li warned that these alliances would “plunge the Asia-Pacific into a whirlpool of disputes and conflicts”. His comments echoed long-held Chinese criticism of the United States’ efforts to shore up alliances in the region and counter China’s rise. “Today’s Asia-Pacific needs open and inclusive cooperation, not buddying up into small cliques,” he said at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit. In Brief: WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to address U.P. BJP rally on June 11 Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP from Kaiserganj, Uttar Pradesh, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is facing allegations of sexual harassment by women wrestlers, will address a party rally at Katra in his constituency on June 11 as part of the BJP’s mass outreach campaign to mark completion of nine years of the Narendra Modi-led Central government. He had earlier postponed his ‘Jan Chetna Maharally’ scheduled in Ayodhya on June 5 citing a police probe into the wrestlers’ allegations and “respect for Supreme Court directions”. India’s import of Russian oil scales new high in May India’s import of cheap Russian oil scaled another record last month and is now more than the combined oil bought from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE and the U.S., industry data showed. India took 1.96 million barrels a day from Russia in May 2023, 15% more than the previous high in April 2023, according to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa. Russia now makes up for nearly 42% of all crude oil India imported in May 2023. This is the highest share for an individual country in recent years. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 04 June 2023 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Odisha train accident | Death toll revised down to 275, Railways says ‘signalling interference’ behind train wreck [Signalling interference has been identified as the main cause]( the devastating [multi-train collision that took place in Odisha on June 2]( the Railway Board said on June 4. The nature of this signalling interference, whether manual, incidental or due to any other reason, can only be revealed by the Commissioner of Railway Safety, who has been conducting a detailed investigation into the accident. The possibility of sabotage has not been ruled out, said Railway Board Member (Operation and Business Development) Jaya Verma Sinha, who added that the Ministry of Home Affairs was assisting the Board in these inquiries. Earlier in the day, [Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw]( said that the CRS had finished its inquiry and would soon submit the report on the accident. He also said that the root cause of the collision had been identified as a problem in the electronic interlocking system and the people responsible for the error had also been identified. While the Railways have now narrowed down the cause of the accident to signalling, the probe is yet to declare whether the Coromandel Express first derailed on the main line and then hit the freight train parked on the loop line or had wrongly moved on to the loop line due to “signalling interference”, hit the freight train and then derailed. Meanwhile, the [Odisha government climbed down from the previous death-toll of 288 to 275]( stating that few bodies were counted twice. “The double count had taken place due to flurry of activities and stressed environment. Out of 275 bodies, 88 bodies have been identified and handed over to their relatives. Of the rest 187 bodies, 170 bodies have been shifted to Bhubaneswar,” Chief Secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena said. Railway officials said that most railway tracks have been cleared of wrecked railway coaches overnight by a team of bulldozers and cranes so that railway services on the main trunk line connecting eastern and southern India can be restored. Work on repairing tracks and overhead electric cables which had snapped was also going on, they added. Three-member Commission of Inquiry to probe ethnic violence in Manipur The [Central government on June 4 appointed a three-member Commission of Inquiry headed by Ajai Lamba, former Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court, to probe the ethnic violence in Manipur]( that has claimed 98 lives so far and displaced over 35,000 people. A notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that the “Commission shall submit its report to the Central Government as soon as possible but not later than six months from the date of its first sitting”. Its headquarters will be in Imphal. The other two members of the Commission are Himanshu Shekhar Das, retired IAS officer from the 1982 batch of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, and Aloka Prabhakar, a 1986 batch retired IPS officer of the Telangana cadre. On May 29, the Government of Manipur recommended the institution of a Judicial Inquiry Commission to look into the causes and associated factors of the crisis, and the unfortunate incidents that occurred on May 3. The terms of reference of the Commission said that it would inquire into the causes and the spread of the violence and riots targeting members of different communities, and the sequence of events and whether there were any lapses or dereliction of duty in this regard on the part of any of the responsible authorities and individuals. It would also probe if adequate administrative measures had been taken to prevent and deal with the violence and the riots, and to consider such matters as may be found relevant in the course of the inquiry. U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives in India on two-day visit [U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in India on June 4 on a two-day visit]( to explore ways to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation, especially in areas of transfer of critical technologies for co-development of military hardware. His trip comes over two weeks ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington during which the two sides are expected to unveil initiatives to expand the India-U.S. global strategic partnership. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Austin are set to discuss in their talks on June 5, the General Electric’s proposal to share technology with India for fighter jet engines and New Delhi’s plan to procure 30 MQ-9B armed drones at a cost of over $3 billion from U.S. defence major General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc, besides other issues, people familiar with the matter said. China’s aggressive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific as well as along the Line of Actual Control, and ways to combat the threat of terrorism are also likely to figure in the discussions between Singh and Austin. G20 | India proposes Global Medical Countermeasure ecosystem platform to set standards for public good [India’s G-20 presidency is working towards building consensus for an end-to-end Global Medical Countermeasure (MCM) ecosystem following a network-to-network approach and leveraging existing global and regional initiatives, said Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar]( Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare during her address at the 3rd Health Working Group meeting on June 4. She also urged the leadership of G20 countries to create an interim platform which will be guided by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) process and will feed into the same. Dr. Pawar highlighted the need for availability of safe, effective and quality medical countermeasures. Acknowledging the convergence between G7 and G20 priorities, including the launch of MCM Delivery Partnership during Japan’s G7 Presidency which aligns with G20’s proposal of an end-to-end MCM ecosystem, she urged the global community to strengthen ongoing efforts in that direction. Former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti issued passport after three years PDP president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister [Mehbooba Mufti has been issued a passport with 10-year validity]( sources in Srinagar said on June 4. After a prolonged legal battle in the Delhi High Court, the passport was delivered. Her passport expired in 2019 and since then she had been seeking its renewal. The passport came two days ahead of a hearing in Jammu and Kashmir High Court where Mufti’s daughter Iltija’s plea challenging the decision of the passport office to give her a country-specific passport is to come up. The Delhi High Court in March this year had asked the passport authority to decide within three months on issuing a fresh travel document to the PDP chief. China warns ‘NATO-like’ alliances could lead to conflict in Asia-Pacific [China’s Defence Minister warned against establishing NATO-like military alliances in the Asia-Pacific, saying they would plunge the region into a “whirlpool” of conflict](. Li Shangfu’s comments came a day after U.S. and Chinese military vessels sailed close to each other in the flashpoint Taiwan Strait, an incident that provoked anger from both sides. “Attempts to push for NATO-like [alliances] in the Asia-Pacific is a way of kidnapping regional countries and exaggerating conflicts and confrontations,” Li told a security conference in Singapore, also attended by U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. Li warned that these alliances would “plunge the Asia-Pacific into a whirlpool of disputes and conflicts”. His comments echoed long-held Chinese criticism of the United States’ efforts to shore up alliances in the region and counter China’s rise. “Today’s Asia-Pacific needs open and inclusive cooperation, not buddying up into small cliques,” he said at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit. In Brief: WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh to address U.P. BJP rally on June 11 Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP from Kaiserganj, Uttar Pradesh, [Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is facing allegations of sexual harassment by women wrestlers, will address a party rally at Katra]( in his constituency on June 11 as part of the BJP’s mass outreach campaign to mark completion of nine years of the Narendra Modi-led Central government. He had earlier postponed his ‘Jan Chetna Maharally’ scheduled in Ayodhya on June 5 citing a police probe into the wrestlers’ allegations and “respect for Supreme Court directions”. India’s import of Russian oil scales new high in May [India’s import of cheap Russian oil scaled another record last month]( and is now more than the combined oil bought from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE and the U.S., industry data showed. India took 1.96 million barrels a day from Russia in May 2023, 15% more than the previous high in April 2023, according to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa. Russia now makes up for nearly 42% of all crude oil India imported in May 2023. This is the highest share for an individual country in recent years. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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