AN EXPRESS INVESTIGATION – PART 1 | Lives derailed, most Balasore train disaster victims contest Railway relief — and get higher award in Tribunal

Knocking astatine the doors of an RCT, which is simply a quasi-judicial body, means regular hearings wherever families are represented by lawyers and the Railways contests each claim. The grant of enhanced compensation is implicit and supra the ex gratia awarded by the Railways. So, for galore families, this is arsenic overmuch a combat for alleviation arsenic it is for justice.

For example, some the expectant mothers initially received Rs 50,000 ex gratia from the Railways. They approached the claims tribunal successful Kolkata seeking much alleviation and, aft a period of hearings, 1 was awarded Rs 1.2 lakh more, and the different Rs 80,000 more. The antheral with the robust rod successful his caput was granted an further Rs 1.6 lakh, supra the Railways ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh.

It was connected June 2, 2023 that the Coromandel Express from Howrah to Chennai collided with a stationary goods train, and 21 of its derailed coaches went connected to deed the tail-end of Yesvantpur Express, adjacent the Bahanaga Bazar presumption successful Odisha’s Balasore. As galore arsenic 297 radical were killed and implicit 800 injured successful the accident.

Hours aft the tragedy, the Railways announced ex gratia compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of those killed, Rs 2 lakh to those severely injured and disabled, and Rs 50,000 for insignificant injuries. However, successful the 16 months since, arsenic galore arsenic 76 per cent of the 1,102 passengers officially declared arsenic affected moved RCTs successful Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi, Patna, Chennai and Bhopal for enhanced relief.

These 841 pleas see 193 applications filed by families of those dormant and 648 by the injured — 608 of them (416 injuries and 192 deaths) had already received ex gratia from the Railways.

Records amusement that overall, the maximum hike successful compensation awarded by an RCT for injuries was to a West Bengal nonmigratory — Rs 5.4 lakh implicit an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh — aft his near wrist got burnt and his close manus fractured successful a wide people compartment. The slightest hike successful compensation for injuries — Rs 10,000 — was awarded by the Ranchi RCT successful 3 cases.

In cases of deaths, the RCTs awarded further compensation of Rs 8 lakh each for 183 cases — the families chiefly cited dependency, stating that the deceased was the sole breadwinner. Nine cases involving deaths are inactive pending astatine the RCT benches of Kolkata (4), Patna (3) and Ranchi (2). One lawsuit successful Kolkata was rejected due to the fact that of non-appearance of the parties for the hearing.

The Indian Express reviewed the lawsuit records for these 841 pleas and recovered respective telling takeaways:

• At slightest 90 victims, who were injured, told RCTs that they did not person a azygous rupee successful compensation either from the Railways oregon their authorities governments — each of them were granted alleviation by the tribunals. In all, the Railways did not assistance ex gratia to 232 injured, and the household of an Odisha nonmigratory who died. Of the 297 deceased, 27 dormant bodies could not beryllium identified.
• In astatine slightest 215 cases of injuries, the Railways questioned the engagement of victims successful the mishap during RCT proceedings — and demanded impervious of travel.
• And, successful astatine slightest 450 cases, astir 70 per cent successful this category, the injuries sustained did not suffice nether the compensation instrumentality followed by RCTs. This means that owed to the lack of a due explanation of injuries, specified arsenic intelligence trauma and pain, astir of the affected received little compensation than what they had sought from the tribunals.

According to records accessed by The Indian Express, the 841 pleas earlier the RCTs impact claims totalling Rs 40.61 crore. They amusement that a full of Rs 18.69 crore has been awarded successful 793 cases truthful acold — of this, astir 80 per cent was for deaths. On an average, each injured unfortunate filed a assertion of Rs 4.32 lakh and got an mean of Rs 68,284 arsenic enhanced compensation. The further compensation granted was supra the full ex gratia of Rs 23.23 crore fixed by the Railways and a authorities authorities successful these cases.

In its authoritative figures, the Railways has claimed that it paid a full ex gratia of Rs 32.8 crore to victims of the accident: Rs 27 crore to families of the dormant and Rs 5.8 crore to 635 injured. The South Eastern Railway, nether whose jurisdiction the mishap took place, has claimed connected its website that it paid a full of Rs 21.84 crore successful compensation arsenic per RCT orders successful 817 cases.

The Ministry of Railways did not respond to a petition for remark from The Indian Express and a abstracted questionnaire detailing the cardinal findings of this newspaper.

The lawsuit records accessed by The Indian Express besides show:

• At Chennai, nary of the applicants claimed immoderate circumstantial magnitude and further compensation was awarded connected the ground of investigation of injuries. Similarly, 12 applicants successful the Ranchi seat and 7 successful the Patna RCT did not assertion immoderate magnitude successful their application.
• Among 648 cases of those injured, 577 were heard by the 2 RCTs successful Bhubaneswar and Kolkata: the victims claimed adjacent to Rs 25 crore, and were awarded astir Rs 4 crore.
• The Patna seat has decided lone six cases truthful acold retired of a full of 28, and granted Rs 8 lakh each successful 3 cases of death, Rs 64,000 successful 1 injured case, and Rs 15,000 each successful 2 different injured cases. Besides, hearings are inactive ongoing successful 22 cases astatine the Kolkata seat and 1 successful Bhubaneswar.
• There is lone 1 lawsuit earlier the Bhopal bench: a pantry car worker, who sustained terrible pain injuries and received Rs 2 lakh ex gratia from the Railways, was granted compensation of Rs 1.6 lakh against a assertion of Rs 4 lakh.

‘Were you there?’

The RCT records besides laic bare however galore of the injured were asked by the Railways to beryllium that they were so successful 1 of the trains progressive — 176 sustained grievous injuries, 459 radical had elemental injuries and 170 radical were fixed archetypal assistance successful the accident.

Nothing amended illustrates this quandary than the lawsuit of Mohammed Izaz Ahmed Haldar, a 29-year-old tailor and nonmigratory of Baneswarpur successful South 24 Parganas.

According to records, Haldar boarded the Coromandel Express from Shalimar presumption successful West Bengal without a reservation, took a wide people summons and sat connected the level adjacent the toilet. In the clang that occurred a fewer hours later, helium sustained superior injuries connected his waist, close precocious arm, connected the near manus beneath the elbow, and the close knee.

And yet, helium did not person immoderate ex gratia from the Railways contempt an authoritative announcement that specified victims were eligible. Haldar went connected to record an exertion earlier the Kolkata RCT seeking compensation, and justice.

The South Eastern Railway challenged Haldar’s petition and submitted earlier RCT that the applicant “has to prove” that helium was a bonafide rider arsenic nary archetypal summons was annexed with the application. Haldar responded that by the clip helium emerged from the accident, the archetypal summons was lost.

The RCT concluded: “…it is hard to judge that the applicant remained unnoticed and was not chased by summons checking unit of railway during his agelong journey”. Haldar was granted compensation of Rs 20,000.

Three months aft the accident, the CBI filed the archetypal chargesheet successful the lawsuit against 3 Railways employees — 2 conception engineers and 1 technician — who were arrested successful July 2023. They were charged with culpable homicide not amounting to execution and causing disappearance of evidence.

Apart from this, pursuing an enquiry by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (South-Eastern Circle), 7 Railway officials, including the 3 arrested by the CBI, were suspended and disciplinary enactment taken.