‘That train was Ravana’

Neha Saini

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 20

Some of the locals are terming the horrifying incident as an ‘act of God’.

“The train was the real Ravana, who didn’t spare anyone in its way, not even children. The festival will forever be marked as a tragedy in our lives,” said Sandeep, whose friend Sachin, 18, died in the mishap.

A group of residents, mainly youngsters, said the railway track had always been considered “cursed” by the locals as a number of death had been reported here. “We would hear about someone getting run over by train every now and then. There is a dangerous curve on the track that makes it impossible to guess how far the train is while crossing over from the side of the residential colony. Some elders also believe that the track is ‘bhari’ (cursed) as it claims lives,” said Ashok Kumar, a student and resident of Krishna Nagar.

For the reason, the locals have been organising akhand path or puja every year.