Not at fault, claims organiser

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 22

Three days after the Amritsar train tragedy, youth Congress leader and key organiser of the Dasehra event at Dhobi Ghat Saurav Madan Mithu on Monday claimed that all permissions and safety measures were taken and he was being framed by a few people who had “personal enmity” against him.

In a one-and-a-half-minute video, which went viral on the social media today, Mithu, who went into hiding after kin of the victims blamed him, said there were no lapses from his side.

Mithu said, “I am in deep sorrow after the incident. I had organised the event to get everyone together. We got all permissions. Almost 20-ft area around the effigy was kept reserved taking safety into account. We made our best efforts. More than 50 cops were deployed there. The MC provided water tanker and fire tender.”

“The programme was held within the boundary of the Dhobi ghat ground not on the railway lines... we hadn’t put chairs on the railways lines. There was a 10-ft wall around the ground. People were standing on the track. It was a natural calamity. No one is responsible for it. A few mischievous persons are targeting me to settle their personal scores. We made announcements asking people to stay away from rail tracks,” Mithu said in Punjabi in the video. He added that he and his family were disturbed.

On being asked about Mithu, Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said, “I don’t know where is he and why is he absconding. He did not approach me after the incident. He knows me like thousands of others.”