A stampede at New Delhi Railway Station killed 18 people and injured several others as crowds surged to board trains for Maha Kumbh. Authorities have launched an inquiry into the incident.
Pic/ PTI
At least 18 people lost their lives in a stampede at New Delhi Railway Station late on Saturday night, with more than a dozen others sustaining injuries, according to PTI reports. The tragic incident occurred on a footover bridge, as a large crowd of passengers attempted to board trains heading towards Prayagraj for the ongoing Maha Kumbh.
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Northern Railway’s Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Himanshu Upadhyay, stated that the stampede was triggered when some passengers slipped while descending the stairs from the footover bridge leading to platforms 14 and 15, causing a chain reaction of people falling over one another. The Patna-bound Magadh Express was stationed at platform 14, while the New Delhi-Jammu Uttar Sampark Kranti Express was at platform 15 when the incident unfolded, PTI reports.
Eyewitness accounts and sources suggest that mismanagement, delays in train departures, and the overwhelming sale of general tickets contributed to the chaos. Confusion arose when a last-minute platform change was announced, leading to panicked passengers rushing towards platform 16. The crowd bottlenecked at an escalator, where several people were reportedly crushed underfoot.
The railways have launched an inquiry into the stampede, with senior officials Narsingh Deo, Principal Chief Commercial Manager, Northern Railway, and Pankaj Gangwar, Principal Chief Security Commissioner, Northern Railway, leading the investigation, according to PTI. The inquiry committee has ordered the preservation of all CCTV footage from the station to determine the sequence of events leading to the tragedy.
In response to the incident, the railways announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased, Rs 2.5 lakh for those seriously injured, and Rs 1 lakh for those with minor injuries, PTI reports.
At Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital, grieving families gathered to identify their loved ones. One devastated father, upon spotting his son’s blue backpack among the recovered belongings, broke down in tears. “He was just 12. He was supposed to board the train with me,” he sobbed.
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep sorrow over the incident. “Deeply anguished to know about the loss of lives in a stampede at New Delhi Railway Station. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and pray for a speedy recovery of the injured,” President Murmu posted on X.
The opposition has strongly criticised the government’s handling of the railway system. The Congress accused the authorities of trying to conceal the truth behind the tragedy, calling it another example of the railways’ failure and the government’s insensitivity. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) slammed the administration for what it described as “gross mismanagement” and a complete lack of crowd control measures.
Delhi Police has launched an investigation into the cause of the stampede, with officials collecting CCTV footage and analysing station announcements made during the time of the incident. A list of the deceased has been released, including several women and children.
Despite the tragedy, chaos persisted at the station on Sunday afternoon, as large crowds continued to gather. Railway staff worked through the night to clear the platforms, where strewn belongings such as slippers, torn bags, and discarded food packets painted a grim picture of the previous night’s horror. One railway staffer described the scene as one of the worst he had ever witnessed.
Sources indicate that many families took the bodies of their loved ones without post-mortem examinations, although there has been no official confirmation regarding this matter.
(With inputs from PTI)
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