Capt visits Amritsar, orders magisterial inquiry into accident

Tribune News Service 
Amritsar, October 20

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the Amritsar train accident after visiting injured and kin of those killed in the tragedy.

The Chief Minister postponed a trip to Israel and arrived here this morning to assess the damage.

After landing at Amritsar airport, Capt Amarinder reached the accident site. He met senior officials and members of the crisis management group and took stock of the relief work.

He was accompanied by Health Minister Brahm Mohindra, Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, Education Minister O P Soni, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, among others.

The officers briefed him about the whole tragedy and the number of deaths and injuries.

“We are announcing a magisterial probe into the incident,” Singh said while talking to media here.

He said four weeks have been given to submit the report to find out who was at fault. The divisional commissioner of Jalandhar has been entrusted with the job of holding the inquiry, he said.

He also ordered immediate release of Rs 3 crore to the Amritsar DC for payment of ex gratia to the deceased.

He said compensation of Rs 5 lakh each for the families of the deceased had already been announced by the state government. Besides, the government would bear the cost of medical treatments of the injured admitted to different hospitals, he told reporters.

At least 61 people were killed on Friday evening after a crowd of Dasehra revellers that had spilled onto railway tracks while watching the burning of a Ravana effigy was run over by a train near Joda Phatak here.

A 700-strong crowd was watching the ‘Ravana dahan’ at a ground adjacent to the railway tracks when the Jalandhar-Amritsar Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) passenger train heading to Hoshiarpur from Amritsar came hurtling down at around 7 p.m.

Most people reportedly could not hear the hooting of the train due to the exploding crackers.

In just 10-15 seconds it left behind a heap of crushed and dismembered bodies.

Following the accident, the Railways cancelled 37 trains, diverted 16 trains, short terminated 12 trains and short originated six trains on the route Railway authorities have said that the tragedy was not their responsibility as the organisers and local authorities had not informed them about the event being held so close to the railway tracks.

Senior railway officials said here that the presence of so many people, who were watching the function, on the railway tracks was a “trespass”. With agencies