New Delhi:

 Sudden overcrowding and running amok to catch the trains and alleged lack of management by the Railways led to the tragic incident at New Delhi Railway Station late last night which left 18 people dead.

Following the tragedy, the Railways have set up a two-member, Narsingh Deo (Principal Chief Commercial Manager) and Pankaj Gangwar (Principal Chief Security Commissioner) committee to investigate the stampede.

The inquiry has started and the committee has given orders to secure all the video footage of New Delhi Railway Station, Dilip Kumar, Executive Director (I&P), Railway Board informed.

Huge crowds reached the platforms every hour as at least 1,500 general tickets were sold by the Railways, police sources claimed after the tragic incident.

Railway Protection Force deployment:

A senior official of RPF posted at RPF Post at New Delhi Railway Station (on condition of anonymity) claimed  there are 16 platforms and around 70 RPF personnel were deployed for security management on Saturday.

CCTV Cameras:

Another official posted at the monitoring room (did not reveal his name) claimed that over 200 cameras are installed to monitor platforms and circulating areas. As per the Railway Board, the inquiry committee has given an order to secure all the video footage of the incident.

Stampede Reported:

The Delhi Fire Service received a call from New Delhi Railway Station at about 21:55 hours regarding the stampede at platforms number 14 and 15 following which, fire tenders were rushed to the site, Atul Garg, DFS Chief, informed.

Timings of Trains at Platforms:

As per a station master posted at the Station (who did not wish to reveal his name), Swatantra Senani Express (12562) was at platform number 13 which was supposed to depart at 21:15 hour but due to putting back it was operated at 23:45 hour, Prayagraj Express (12418) at platform number 14 was supposed to depart on 22:10 hour but due to putting back it started 22:15 hour. Similarly, Delhi-Bhubaneshwar (22824) at platform 11 departed at 02:48 hours instead of 17:00 hours. A delay in trains and a heavy rush of passengers at the platforms led to the incident.

Railway Board’s Statement:

The incident took place around 9:15 pm on the staircase of the PF 14 and 15, where a large crowd had gathered to board trains heading to Prayagraj, neither platform change was made by Northern Railway at New Delhi Station, nor was any special train cancelled. An unfortunate stampede occurred at New Delhi Railway Station resulting in the deaths of 18 people and injuries to 15 people. At the station, Prayagraj Express was about to be placed at PF number 14. There was a surge in the crowd to board the trains heading for Prayagraj for the ongoing Mahakumbh. Seeing the surge in crowd for Prayagraj, a special train was announced for Prayagraj from PF number 12. 

Compensation:

Injured persons have been treated at Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan Hospital and Lady Harding’s College. The Union Minister of Railways announced Rs 10 lakh compensation for the families of the deceased, Rs 2.5 lakh to those seriously injured and Rs One lakh to those who sustained simple injuries. Compensation money has been distributed to the families of the victims.

Passengers Reached Platforms:

According to the Railway Board, around 2600 more passengers booked their tickets at New Delhi Station yesterday between 18:00 hours and 20:00 hours. One special train started from New Delhi station in that period.

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