New Delhi: Women and children suffered the brunt of the stampede at the New Delhi railway station as they accounted for 16 of the 18 killed in the tragedy that unfolded Saturday night.
Eleven women and five children were among those dead in the chaos that descended around 8 pm on Platform 14 and 15 as passengers waited to board trains to Prayagraj for Maha Kumbh. In fact, the oldest victim was a 79-year-old woman from Bihar, while a 7-year-old girl from Delhi was the youngest to be killed in the stampede.
The remaining two dead were men, one aged 47 and the other 25. Both were from Delhi.
Half of the victims were from places from Bihar like Saran, Samastipur, Nawada, Vaishali, Paran, and Buxur. Another eight were from Delhi’s Sangam Vihar, Sarita Vihar, Bawana, Nangloi, Sagarpur, Bijwasan among others, while one was from Haryana’s Bhiwani.
Preliminary reports and eyewitness accounts suggest that a wrong announcement may have contributed to the chaos. Additionally, the Railways selling 1,500 general tickets every hour made the station overcrowded and difficult to manage the crowds.
As reported by ThePrint, this was further worsened by delays in the Swatantrata Senani Express and Bhubaneswar Rajdhani, whose passengers were also waiting on Platforms 12, 13, and 14. The stampede reportedly began at Platform 14 and near the escalator at Platform 16, turning the station into a scene of chaos.
Police had received a distress call at 9:55 p.m. on Saturday and are now analyzing CCTV footage to determine the sequence of events that led to the tragedy.
On Sunday, the Railways announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for the next of kin of those who lost their lives. Those who suffered serious injuries will receive Rs 2.5 lakh, while those with minor injuries will be given Rs 1 lakh, reported PTI.
The victims were rushed to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital, where medical teams provided emergency care. Heavy police deployment was ordered at the hospital.
Acting Chief Minister Atishi visited LNJP Hospital to meet the injured and assess the situation.
Atishi criticised both the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government for their lack of preparedness. “The incident involving devotees heading to Maha Kumbh is extremely tragic. Neither the central government nor the UP government cares about people’s safety. There are no proper arrangements in Prayagraj, and no solid transportation plan for devotees arriving from different states,” she said.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the incident, calling it “tragic”, and extended condolences to the victims’ families.
The Prime Minister and the President expressed their condolences to the bereaved and prayed for speedy recovery of the injured.
“Distressed by the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured have a speedy recovery. The authorities are assisting all those who have been affected by this stampede,” the PM posted on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter).
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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Reel Minister, Mr. Ashwini Vaishnav, must resign at the earliest. He has been an absolute failure as far as the Ministry of Railways is concerned.
No Rail Minister in India has presided over so many accidents and so many deaths. Mr. Ashwini Vaishnav should be in Guiness Book of Records.