‘Operation whitewash’ after stampede, Railway Minister should resign: Opposition
#News Bureau February 17,2025
The death toll due to stampede at New Delhi Railway Station late Saturday night has risen to 18. Initially, only 6 people were reported to be injured. By late night, the death toll had risen to 15. Even after this, the number kept increasing. According to media reports, the death toll has risen to 18. The dead include nine women, five children and four men. The accident occurred due to the crowd of thousands of devotees going for Maha Kumbh at New Delhi Railway Station.
The incident took place at around 10 pm on platform 13 and 14, when thousands of Maha Kumbh devotees had gathered to board their trains, causing panic among the passengers. Sources said that many passengers were also injured in the stampede that broke out after excessive crowd at New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday night.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Railway, KPS Malhotra has given the reason for the stampede- “When Prayagraj Express was standing on platform number 14, there were a lot of people present on the platform. Swatantrata Senani Express and Bhubaneswar Rajdhani were running late and passengers of these trains were also present on platform numbers 12,13 and 14. According to the information, 1500 general tickets were sold. This is why the crowd went out of control. There was a stampede-like situation near the escalators near platform number 14 and platform number 1.”
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After the stampede, clothes, slippers, shoes and other items were seen scattered on the platform and stairs, which shows how terrible the stampede must have been.
Several videos have surfaced on social media showing huge crowds of passengers at the railway station – some carrying their children on their shoulders, while others are struggling with their luggage amid the chaos.
Who is responsible?
News of crowds increasing for Maha Kumbh bath in Prayagraj was already coming from various cities of North India. Crowds were increasing at New Delhi Railway Station for four days. But railway officials, police, railway security forces were unable to handle the situation. But no arrangements were made to stop or handle this crowd. Police was seen harassing passengers in the name of checking but no attempt was made to handle the crowd. It is surprising that the Railway Minister had no information about this increasing crowd.
The official figure of 30 people dying in the Prayagraj Maha Kumbh stampede was given. The government held the devotees responsible for this. But later Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also saw a conspiracy in this. He had given a formal statement that the conspiracy will be investigated.
