Balasore tragedy: Injured train driver missing, family alleges they are not allowed to meet him
Hospital said he was discharged five days ago, while family asserts they have no info about him
New Delhi: The family of the injured driver of the Coromandel Express has expressed concerns over being denied access to him, according to reports from Hindustan Times and Jagran English. The driver, Gunanidhi Mohanty, had earlier been mistakenly reported as deceased by Times Now, with his alleged last words being "the signal was green."
The family now claims to have no knowledge of Mohanty's whereabouts. He had been admitted to a private hospital with severe injuries, but the hospital has stated that he was discharged five days ago.
Mohanty's elder brother, Ranjit Mohanty, expressed frustration, stating, "Nobody has told us anything about my brother. I think he is still in the hospital. But I am not sure." The family's attempts to obtain information from the railways have also been unsuccessful.
Vikas Kumar, Public Relations Officer of the East Coast Railway division, responded to inquiries by saying, "Health is a private issue and we can't comment on that. Besides, two probes (by CRS and CBI) are continuing. So we will not be able to comment."
Sanjay Mohanty, another brother of the driver, stated that he had visited Gunanidhi Mohanty in the ICU a couple of days after the accident but has not been permitted to see him since then.
Gunanidhi Mohanty, a resident of Naharpada village located 10 km from Cuttack, was admitted to the hospital with multiple broken ribs and head injuries following the crash.
The driver's 80-year-old father expressed his confusion and longing for his son's return, saying, "Everyone in the village thinks my son is responsible for the accident. But he has been piloting trains for the past 27 years and had never, ever made a mistake. How do I know what happened that evening? I have not even spoken to my son. I have only been waiting for him to come home."
The Hindustan Times clarified that the driver was not among the five officials being interrogated by the CBI or Railway Safety Commissioner regarding the accident, which claimed the lives of an estimated 291 people.
The family's distress over the driver's mysterious disappearance is both baffling and unfortunate, leaving them without answers and longing for his safe return.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses defence minister in surprise announcement
Jerusalem, Nov 5: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed his popular defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in a surprise announcement that came as the country is embroiled in wars on multiple fronts across the region.
Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu had avoided firing his rival. Netanyahu cited “significant gaps” and a “crisis of trust” between the men in his Tuesday evening announcement.
“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and defence minister,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, although in the first months of the campaign there was such trust and there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the defence minister.”
In the early days of the war, Israel's leadership presented a unified front as it responded to Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack. But as the war dragged on and spread to Lebanon, key policy differences have emerged. While Netanyahu has called for continued military pressure on Hamas, Gallant had taken a more pragmatic approach, saying that military force has created the necessary conditions for a diplomatic deal that could bring home hostages held by the Hamas group.
Gallant, a former general who has gained public respect with a gruff, no-nonsense personality, said in a statement: “The security of the state of Israel always was, and will always remain, my life's mission."
Gallant has worn a simple, black buttoned shirt throughout the war in a sign of sorrow over the October 7 attack and developed a strong relationship with his US counterpart, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
A previous attempt by Netanyahu to fire Gallant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against Netanyahu. He also flirted with the idea of dismissing Gallant over the summer but held off until Tuesday's announcement.
Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, a Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister who was a junior officer in the military. Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu rival who recently rejoined the government, will take the foreign affairs post.
Netanyahu has a long history of neutralising his rivals. In his statement, he claimed he had made “many attempts” to bridge the gaps with Gallant.
“But they kept getting wider. They also came to the knowledge of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse than that, they came to the knowledge of the enemy - our enemies enjoyed it and derived a lot of benefit from it,” he said.
