India arrests 3 officials over deadly Odisha train crash

India's federal police arrested three railway officials on Friday over a deadly train crash incident last month.

According to local media, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the crime investigation agency of India, has arrested a senior section engineer, a section engineer and a technician under the criminal code.

They are charged with destruction of evidence and culpable homicide, the local news agencies reported.

Atleast 290 people died in the triple train crash that took place near Balasore in the eastern Indian state of Odisha on June 2.

Thousands were injured in the crash, which is said to be India's deadliest rail accident of this century.

Earlier, the CBI had launched an investigation after registering a case of criminal negligence.

Lapses in signalling works led to the accident

The three people who were arrested had "knowledge” that their actions would result in this tragedy but not the ‘intent,' New Delhi Television Network reported.

The arrests came days after the Commissioner of Railways Safety submitted its report on the accident to the railway board, the Hindustan Times reported.

The report highlighted the lapses in signalling works that led to the accident.

The accident happened as the government seeks to modernize the rail network, much of which was built during British colonial rule.

Despite government efforts to improve safety and upgrade the railway infrastructure, several hundred accidents occur every year.