Amritsar Train Tragedy: Singh says departmental action initiated

The Chief Minister of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday said that departmental action had already been initiated against six police officers and seven employees of the Municipal Corporation Amritsar (MCA). A charge-sheet has been filed against them in regards to the 2018 Dusshera train tragedy. 

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58 people died and 71 injured

These police and MC personnel had been found guilty of dereliction of duty and necessary action had been ordered against them, based on the findings of the Magisterial Inquiry Report. The magisterial enquiry into the incident, which occurred on 19th October 2018, was conducted by Divisional Commissioner Jalandhar B Purushartha, on the orders of the Chief Minister. A total of 58 persons died and 71 were injured in the tragic mishap, Captain Amarinder Singh said in a statement. 

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Punjab's CM takes cognisance of some recent reports

Taking cognisance of some recent reports, the Chief Minister clarified that due action, as per the law, was being taken against all those found guilty. He further stated that there was no question of brushing the matter aside or burying the inquiry report, as alleged by a section of the media. His government was also taking all possible steps to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future, said Captain Amarinder. He also pointed out that detailed guidelines were issued to police and local government officers suggesting corrective measures. These included the creation of a single-window/authority to accept applications and grant permissions for such events. 

The Commissionerates of Police in Amritsar, Ludhiana, and Jalandhar, besides the SDMs in other areas, had already been appointed Single Authority for this purpose, he added. It was also stipulated that the application would contain all the relevant information along with a detailed checklist and the organisers would be asked to make an application at least 15 days before the event. Organisers would also be charged for security fire tenders, water tenders, and cleaning etc. In addition to making video-recording of these functions mandatory, the state government had also stipulated that permission of the concerned department would be a prerequisite if the event was proposed to be held on Government land.

Immediately after the accident, the Chief Minister had ordered Rs 5 lakh compensation to the dependents of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured. Of the Rs 2.9 crore placed at the disposal of Deputy Commissioner Amritsar for disbursal to the kin of the deceased, Rs. 2.6 crore had already been disbursed.

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Incident took place on Dussehra 2018

The incident that took place on Dussehra 2018 turned into a tragedy that shook the nation to the core. Nearly 60 people were killed and several injured after two trains mowed down around 150 people who stood on the railway tracks watching the effigy of burning Ravana near Amritsar. It was estimated that around 300 spectators were present at the Dhobi Ghat ground, which is almost a couple of kilometres away from the Amritsar railway station that day. The tragedy hit when train no. 74643 Jalandhar-Amritsar DMU ran over those, who chose to come on the tracks to get a better view of the fireworks. However, the tragedy did not end at that. Before the survivors could even get their bearings, a second train - Amritsar-Howrah Express - came speeding on to the railway tracks and onto the people who had jumped to the second track in order to escape the train. 

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(With inputs from ANI)