Nearly 60 passengers of Sapt Kranti Express train bound to Bihar had a narrow escape in Sunday afternoon’s stampede at New Delhi railway station.
The rail officials said the platform of the express train was changed and the announcement was made at the last moment which resulted in passengers running from one end of platform to another. Official sources said an engine of a train stationed at platform no 15 had developed technical problems, causing blockade on the track.
Soon after the stampede broke out, people were seen running to safety and trying to locate their loved ones.
A 45-year-old Sabitri Devi, who suffered minor injuries in the incident, alleged that her bag containing lakhs of rupees and some jewellery was missing. She told the police that she was going home in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar as her daughter was going to get married. “We have nothing left. All our belongings got lost. How will we marry off our daughter,” she said.
“We have recovered some material from the platform and it has been safely deposited at our police station. The people can collect their items from there,” Delhi police PRO Rajan Bhagat said.
The police officials said the platform was thronged by people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh when the tragedy struck. An eyewitness claimed that he spotted a group of around 70 people, including women and children, jostling through the crowded platform. “One of a woman passengers fell down and around 10 to 15 people, toppled over her near the staircase. Meanwhile, some passengers from one side of staircase flung their suitcases and baggage to another side, adding more chaos to the scene,” Rakesh, who was near the staircase when the tragedy struck, said.
Some passengers also said, “The ambulances didn’t arrive at the right time. There were only two cops on the platform and even they didn’t come to the rescue of the injured people,” one of the survivors told a new channel. The police has registered a case of death due to negligence along with other sections against unknown men.
Some passengers also entered into an argument with railway authorities demanding that they be accommodated in some train today itself.
Meanwhile, the railway authorities have decided to undertake a few measures to avert such incidents in future. According to authorities, more trains would be shifted to the Anand Vihar mega-terminal to reduce congestion on the New Delhi railway station. Further, the authorities are also mulling over installing a new improved system to monitoring the railway announcements through the public address system in order to avoid confusion. Also, beginning Monday, the authorities have decided to suspend the sale of platform tickets till the rush period gets over.