PILs in Bombay High Court seek judicial inquiry, NIA probe into stampede

MUMBAI: Two PILs have been filed in the Bombay High Court seeking a judicial inquiry and a probe by the anti-terror agency NIA into the stampede on the railway foot overbridge here on September 29 that left 23 dead.

A division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice N M Jamdar today posted the public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a judicial inquiry into the stampede on the narrow bridge linking the Parel and Elphinstone Road railway stations for hearing on October 6.

The petition has been filed by Thane resident Vikrant Tawde.

"What urgency? Overnight what can we do?" Justice Chellur said after Tawde's lawyer V P Patil sought an urgent hearing.

While seeking institution of a judicial inquiry, the petitioner wants railway authorities to identify other stations where there is a risk of similar stampede taking place, give top priority to widening of foot overbridges and have zero tolerance for hawkers and encroachers.

Another bench headed by Justice B R Gavai posted a PIL seeking a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to October 5.

Petitioners Faisal Banaraswala and Abdul Qureshi have also demanded that the railways remove bottlenecks on overbridges, instal escalators and create multiple entry and exit points.

"Several commuters who take the bridge on a regular basis had warned railway officials and the government via letters and tweets about the condition of the bridge. But no action was taken," the PIL said.

A rumour that the bridge was going to collapse allegedly triggered the stampede, it said, adding that police should investigate "if the incident is a soft terror attack". It said the NIA too should be involved to probe this angle.