Northern Railways general manager R K Kulshrestha and divisional railway manager (Delhi division) R N Singh, who were sent on leave in the wake of the Utkal Express accident on August 19, have been rehabilitated and are back to work. It is believed they were exonerated because they were new to their postings and have excellent track records.
Their rehabilitation followed after preliminary findings of the Commission for Railway Safety (CRS), which was probing the accident, fixed direct and primary responsibility on certain officers and employees who have been made to face strict action. The suspensions of senior divisional engineer and assistant engineer of Delhi division were revoked after issuance of a minor charge-sheet.
A senior section engineer and a junior engineer remained suspended while 13 employees, including a junior engineer and 11 'gangmen' or track maintenance personnel, who were removed from service for "dereliction of duty", have failed to get any relief.