Railways rules out probe, says revellers were trespassers

A day after 59 people were killed when the Jalandhar-Amritsar DMU tore through a crowd watching Dussehra celebrations while standing on railway tracks, no one appears ready to take responsibility.

Here was a one-day mega event with Navjot Kaur Sidhu, wife of minister and local MP Navjot Sidhu, on the stage, accompanied by a posse of police. The promise of spectacular fireworks ensured a 4,000-strong crowd, many of whom had moved to the raised railway tracks for a better view. In words that proved ominous, the event’s organiser, Dussehra Committee (East) president Saurabh Madan Mithu, sang paens to Navjot Kaur, pointing to the crowd including those on the tracks: “Look at the 5,000 people who are here for you. They will not move even if 500 trains were to pass.”

Amritsar mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu said the organisers had not even applied for permission for the Ravan Dahan celebration; this was confirmed by municipal commissioner Sonali Giri.


The railways have pulled out the rule book and declared the people who were killed as “trespassers”. Talking to TOI on Saturday, Ashwani Lohani, chairman of the Railway Board, said people who were on the rail tracks were trespassing on railway property and there was no question of holding a probe.

Section 145 of the Railways Act states that tracks are highly dangerous areas; merely walking alongside them carries a sentence of up to six months.

Mithu had ignored the municipal corporation and written to the police for security as cabinet minister Sidhu and wife were the chief guests, but Navjot Singh was not there. A police report of October 17 by SHO Mohkampura police station stated he had received a mail seeking permission to use loudspeakers, and that 20,000 people may assemble for the event. A municipal officer said events are organised regularly without bothering about the corporation’s permission. “If a minister or his wife is chief guest, organisers are doubly confident.”