New Delhi: Days after at least 18 people lost their lives and several others were injured in a stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station last Saturday, a report by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) has come out. The report shares details about how and where the incident took place.
As per the report, soon after Shivganga Express left Platform Number 12 at the station, a huge crowd of passengers started gathering at the station, due to which the same, as well as other Platform Numbers 13,14, 15, and 16, have gone overcrowded. Due to this, the Railway Police asked the station director to run the special train for Prayagraj early. He also asked officials selling 1500 tickets every two hours to stop selling them.
The announcement led to confusion at the station
In the meantime, an announcement was made at 8:45 PM that the Kumbh Special train going to Prayagraj would leave from platform number 12. However, after some time, another announcement said that the Kumbh Special train would leave from Platform Number 12.
This led to chaos among people near the stairs, leading to a stampede at 8:48 PM, the report added further. Soon after, torn bags, scattered slippers, and abandoned belongings were found scattered in the staircase, bridge, and Platform Number 14 and Platform Number 15.
What police said after the incident
“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 had earlier said as per news agency ANI. It further added, “Additionally, four trains were heading to Prayagraj, out of which three were delayed, causing unexpected overcrowding.”
