India arrests 3 railway officials over deadly June train crash

ANKARA

India's federal investigating agency on Friday arrested three railway officials in connection with a major train crash last month that killed and injured hundreds of people.

The arrested men were charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and causing disappearance of evidence, the Central Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.

In June, the massive train crash in the eastern Odisha state, which involved two passenger trains and a freight train, killed over 290 people and injured more than 1,000 others in what is regarded as the country's worst railway disaster in recent history.

Subsequently, the Central Bureau of Investigation registered a case following the request of Indian Railways.

"Investigation is continuing," the federal agency said in Friday's statement.

After the incident, the Indian Railways announced a high-level probe into the incident. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who reviewed the relief work at the crash site, said those found guilty will be severely punished.

Last week, the probe report revealed that wrong signaling was the primary reason for the accident.

The report flagged "lapses at multiple levels" in the signaling and telecommunication department, but pointed out that the incident could have been averted if the past alerts were reported, local news agency Press Trust of India reported.