KOLKATA: The death toll from West Bengal in the Odisha triple train tragedy has risen to 81, a statement from the state government read.
On Sunday night, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee cited the number at 62 but expressed concern that it would rise when more bodies are found and identified. She questioned whether the railway department did not have easy access to the names of passengers in unreserved carriages. "The state government has not yet received that list. The number of casualties from Bengal may therefore increase in due course, she warned. On Monday, June 5, the state government updated the figure at 81. State government sources cited that in the updated death figure from the state the maximum, 31 has been reported from South 24 Parganas district.
In the meantime, Trinamool Congress has declared the creation of a six-person committee, whose members will personally visit the families of those killed in the train and accident and provide the families with compensation checks for Rs 2,00,000 each.
Abhishek Banerjee, national general secretary of the Trinamool Congress, had previously stated that this additional compensation of Rs 2,00,000 for each victim's family would be paid on top of the state government's payout of Rs 5,00,000.
The suggestion of the Railways Board for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation into the Balasore train tragedy has already sparked a political brawl in the state.
"Since the Union government is using them as weapons against the opposition parties, the confidence of central agencies like the CBI is at an all-time low. Therefore, we have no faith in the CBI investigation, said Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Dr. Santanu Sen.
Sukanta Majumdar, the BJP's state president in West Bengal and a member of the party's Lok Sabha, stated that a central agency investigation into the incident is now necessary because there are suspicions of sabotage being responsible for the tragedy.
PIL filed in Supreme Court regarding Odisha train accident
Odisha train accident: Three ministers rushed to the spot to monitor the treatment