Stampede broke at New Delhi Railway Station killed 18 people; Opposition demanded Rail Minister Vaishnav’s resignation
Passengers in large numbers throng the New Delhi Railway Station
A stampede broke at New Delhi Railway Station after a sudden increase in the passenger rush to onboard the Mahakumbh Special Train to Prayagraj at platforms 12 and 14. Officials said that confusion over almost identical train names after an announcement of the platform number for an arriving Prayagraj-bound special train sparked panic and a sudden rush. 18 people died in the incident including 11 women and four children, according to a list put out by the Delhi police. Three people were also grievously injured and 27 others received simple injuries, the Railway ministry said in a statement, adding that out of them 11 were given treatment and released from a hospital.
The Delhi Police put out a list of the 18 victims. The dead have been identified as Asha Devi (79), Pinky Devi (41), Sheela Devi (50), Vyom (25), Poonam Devi (40), Lalita Devi (35), Suruchi (11), Krishna Devi (40), Vijay Sah (15), Neeraj (12), Shanti Devi (40), Pooja Kumari (8), Sangeeta Malik (34), Poonam (34), Mamta Jha (40), Riya Singh (7), Baby Kumari (24) and Manoj (47).
The Railway ministry ordered a high-level inquiry by a two-member committee into the stampede which also triggered a political blame game. The Opposition demanded Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav’s resignation for alleged mismanagement and accused the government of trying to cover up the incident.
Northern Railway’s Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Himanshu Upadhyay said that at the time of incident the Patna-bound Magadh Express was positioned at platform number 14 and the New Delhi-Jammu Uttar Sampark Kranti Express was stationed at platform number 15.
A preliminary probe revealed that the stampede occurred after some passengers slipped and fell on others while coming down from a foot overbridge. As survivors recalled how people trampled over each other amid cries for help, the Delhi Police said it would analyse the CCTV footage to determine the exact sequence of events before chaos erupted at the station on Saturday night. The station witnessed a surge of passengers waiting to board trains at platforms number 14 and 15 for Prayagraj–where the Maha Kumbh is underway.
The Delhi Police and Railway Protection Force (RPF) were actively managing the crowd and assisting passengers in boarding trains at the New Delhi railway station on Sunday.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Railway) KPS Malhotra said that the situation is under control. Malhotra stated that, “The passengers have already boarded the special train which will leave from platform number 16. Keeping in view the heavy footfall, we have made an extra deployment for special trains as well as for the regular trains. There is rope barricading due to which no one is moving ahead and everything is under control.”
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and many political leaders condoled the loss of lives in the stampede.
