New Delhi: A day after the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS) that claimed 18 lives and injured several others, the Railway Ministry has formed a committee to probe the incident. After denying it earlier, the ministry accepted that there was an announcement of platform change at the station.
As per the initial findings which have come to light, there has been a massive increase in the crowd at the station due to the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela at the Prayagraj. Because of this several special trains have been started. On Saturday evening, people were waiting to board a Prayagraj Express train at Platform number 14, the report said.
‘Announcements on trains led to confusion’
It said that even as the train was yet to arrive at the station, another announcement was made regarding a special train to Prayagraj coming at Platform number 12. This led to confusion, leading people waiting at Platform Number 14 to start moving towards the other platform, which led to a stampede on stairs leading to deaths and injuries, it added further.
Earlier, the disaster occurred at around 9:55 PM last night, when thousands of passengers going to Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj crowded the station. Soon after the tragic incidents, torn bags, scattered slippers, and abandoned belongings were found scattered in the staircase, bridge, and Platform Number 14 and Platform Number 15. As per the police, there was confusion as the name of both trains had ‘Prayagraj’ as initials.
What police said
“The announcement of the Prayagraj Special arriving at platform 16 led to confusion because the Prayagraj Express was already at platform 14. People who couldn’t reach their train at platform 14 thought their train was arriving at platform 16 leading to the stampede,” the police said as per news agency ANI. It added, “Additionally, four trains were heading to Prayagraj, out of which three were delayed, causing unexpected overcrowding.”
