Delhi Railway Station Stampede: Kin Of Deceased, Affected Passengers Cry Foul At Railways 'Apathy'

People who lost their loved ones in the tragedy now are finding it tough to go back home.

By Chanchal Mukherjee

New Delhi: Prince Kumar, who lost his mother in the stampede at New Delhi railway station, sums up the human tragedy that is unfolding in the aftermath of the horrific incident.

Though Kumar's family has already taken his mother's body back home, all he is trying for is a railway ticket so that he could pay his last respects to his mother. But, despite persistent attempts and repeated requests to railway officials he is yet to get a reserved ticket to Bihar. “It is very tragic for me that my mother died in the stampede late on Saturday night and her body has been sent to Bihar but I am still struggling to manage a train ticket to go to my hometown. I have been appealing railway officials for help but no one has come forward and this shows their apathy towards the victims,” he told ETV Bharat

Like Kumar, Sanju Devi has been queuing up before the railway station seeking help. The Madhubani resident had come to the railway station to board a train to Patna along with her family members. Though she did not lose anyone in the tragedy, Sanju said all her belongings went missing. “I lost money, clothes and other things. I have been at the railway station since evening but have received no assurance or help from the railway authorities. We are poor, and cannot afford to lose our luggage,” she told ETV Bharat. Sanju said she has been trying to reach out to the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police, and Delhi Police for lodging a missing luggage complaint but in vain.

Annoyed with the officials' attitude, Mrityunjay Thakur who too lost his luggage during the stampede, told ETV Bharat there is no proper help desk at the railway station to assist people affected by the tragedy. An eyewitness, Manish Kumar, told ETV Bharat, “There was a huge crowd at the platform when the tragic incident took place. I saw the platform and over bridge was crowded and there was no space to move even an inch. The railways should have deployed more security personnel to control the crowd entering the railway station.”

Chief Public Relations Officer of Northern Railways, Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay in a video message said, “When this incident took place, Magadh Express was stationed at platform no 14 and Uttar Sampark Kranti was at platform no 15. During this time several passengers who were coming from the footover bridge slipped one after another which led to the tragedy. A high-level committee has been set up to investigate the incident.”