Part 1: Lives derailed, most Balasore train disaster victims contest Railway relief — and get higher award in Tribunal

Knocking at the doors of an RCT, which is a quasi-judicial body, means regular hearings where families are represented by lawyers and the Railways contests each claim. The award of enhanced compensation is over and above the ex gratia awarded by the Railways. So, for many families, this is as much a fight for relief as it is for justice.

For example, both the expectant mothers initially received Rs 50,000 ex gratia from the Railways. They approached the claims tribunal in Kolkata seeking more relief and, after a month of hearings, one was awarded Rs 1.2 lakh more, and the other Rs 80,000 more. The man with the iron rod in his head was granted an additional Rs 1.6 lakh, above the Railways ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh.

It was on June 2, 2023 that the Coromandel Express from Howrah to Chennai collided with a stationary goods train, and 21 of its derailed coaches went on to hit the tail-end of Yesvantpur Express, near the Bahanaga Bazar station in Odisha’s Balasore. As many as 297 people were killed and over 800 injured in the accident.

Hours after 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 minor injuries. However, in the 16 months since, as many as 76 per cent of the 1,102 passengers officially declared as affected moved RCTs in Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi, Patna, Chennai and Bhopal for enhanced relief.

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

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Records show that overall, the maximum hike in compensation awarded by an RCT for injuries was to a West Bengal resident — Rs 5.4 lakh over an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh — after his left wrist got burnt and his right hand fractured in a general class compartment. The least hike in compensation for injuries — Rs 10,000 — was awarded by the Ranchi RCT in three cases.

In cases of deaths, the RCTs awarded additional compensation of Rs 8 lakh each for 183 cases — the families mainly cited dependency, stating that the deceased was the sole breadwinner. Nine cases involving deaths are still pending at the RCT benches of Kolkata (4), Patna (3) and Ranchi (2). One case in Kolkata was rejected because of non-appearance of the parties for the hearing.

The Indian Express reviewed the case records for these 841 pleas and found several telling takeaways:

• At least 90 victims, who were injured, told RCTs that they did not receive a single rupee in compensation either from the Railways or their state governments — all of them were granted relief by the tribunals. In all, the Railways did not grant ex gratia to 232 injured, and the family of an Odisha resident who died. Of the 297 deceased, 27 dead bodies could not be identified.
• In at least 215 cases of injuries, the Railways questioned the involvement of victims in the accident during RCT proceedings — and demanded proof of travel.
• And, in at least 450 cases, about 70 per cent in this category, the injuries sustained did not qualify under the compensation law followed by RCTs. This means that due to the absence of a proper definition of injuries, such as mental trauma and pain, most of the affected received less compensation than what they had sought from the tribunals.

According to records accessed by The Indian Express, the 841 pleas before the RCTs involve claims totalling Rs 40.61 crore. They show that a total of Rs 18.69 crore has been awarded in 793 cases so far — of this, about 80 per cent was for deaths. On an average, each injured victim filed a claim of Rs 4.32 lakh and got an average of Rs 68,284 as enhanced compensation. The additional compensation granted was above the total ex gratia of Rs 23.23 crore given by the Railways and a state government in these cases.

In its official figures, the Railways has claimed that it paid a total ex gratia of Rs 32.8 crore to victims of the accident: Rs 27 crore to families of the dead and Rs 5.8 crore to 635 injured. The South Eastern Railway, under whose jurisdiction the accident took place, has claimed on its website that it paid a total of Rs 21.84 crore in compensation as per RCT orders in 817 cases.

The Ministry of Railways did not respond to a request for comment from The Indian Express and a separate questionnaire detailing the key findings of this newspaper.

The case records accessed by The Indian Express also show:

• At Chennai, none of the applicants claimed any specific amount and additional compensation was awarded on the basis of analysis of injuries. Similarly, 12 applicants in the Ranchi bench and seven in the Patna RCT did not claim any amount in their application.
• Among 648 cases of those injured, 577 were heard by the two RCTs in Bhubaneswar and Kolkata: the victims claimed close to Rs 25 crore, and were awarded about Rs 4 crore.
• The Patna bench has decided only six cases so far out of a total of 28, and granted Rs 8 lakh each in three cases of death, Rs 64,000 in one injured case, and Rs 15,000 each in two other injured cases. Besides, hearings are still ongoing in 22 cases at the Kolkata bench and one in Bhubaneswar.
• There is only one case before the Bhopal bench: a pantry car worker, who sustained severe burn injuries and received Rs 2 lakh ex gratia from the Railways, was granted compensation of Rs 1.6 lakh against a claim of Rs 4 lakh.

‘Were you there?’

The RCT records also lay bare how many of the injured were asked by the Railways to prove that they were indeed in one of the trains involved — 176 sustained grievous injuries, 459 people had simple injuries and 170 people were given first aid in the accident.

Nothing better illustrates this quandary than the case of Mohammed Izaz Ahmed Haldar, a 29-year-old tailor and resident of Baneswarpur in South 24 Parganas.

According to records, Haldar boarded the Coromandel Express from Shalimar station in West Bengal without a reservation, took a general class ticket and sat on the floor near the toilet. In the crash that occurred a few hours later, he sustained serious injuries on his waist, right upper arm, on the left hand below the elbow, and the right knee.

And yet, he did not receive any ex gratia from the Railways despite an official announcement that such victims were eligible. Haldar went on to file an application before the Kolkata RCT seeking compensation, and justice.

The South Eastern Railway challenged Haldar’s petition and submitted before RCT that the applicant “has to prove” that he was a bonafide passenger as no original ticket was annexed with the application. Haldar responded that by the time he emerged from the accident, the original ticket was lost.

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

Three months after the accident, the CBI filed the first chargesheet in the case against three Railways employees — two section engineers and one technician — who were arrested in July 2023. They were charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and causing disappearance of evidence.

Apart from this, following an inquiry by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (South-Eastern Circle), seven Railway officials, including the three arrested by the CBI, were suspended and disciplinary action taken.