RPF on New Delhi Railway Station Stampede: 18 people have died in the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station. After the accident, many reasons are coming to light. However, now the RPF report has come out in this regard, in which the statement of the RPF has been rejected. 

RPF on New Delhi Railway Station Stampede: According to a report by the Railway Protection Force (RPF), at least 18 people died in a stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday night due to the announcement of two different platforms at an interval of three minutes for the Kumbh special train going to Prayagraj. The first announcement said that the train would depart from platform 12, while the second time it was said that the train would depart from platform 16. According to reports, a stampede-like situation developed soon after these announcements.

Some media reports are claiming that they have seen a copy of this report, which refutes the claim of the Indian Railways. The railways said that no announcement was made about platform 16. According to the report, after the departure of Shivganga Express from platform 12 at 8:15 pm, the crowd suddenly started increasing at the station, due to which foot bridges number 2 and 3 got jammed.

What did the RPF Inspector in charge say?

According to the report prepared by the Inspector in charge of New Delhi post of RPF, after the announcement of Kumbh special train, the passengers present on platforms 12, 13, 14 and 15 started going towards foot bridge number 2 and 3. At the same time, the passengers of 'Magadh Express' and 'Uttar Sampark Kranti' Express standing on platform 14 and 15 and the passengers of 'Prayagraj Express' which has not yet arrived were coming down the stairs. Due to jostling in the crowd, some passengers fell and the rest were crushed by the people.

What did RPF do?

Assistant Security Commissioner (ASC/NDLS) of RPF reached bridge number 2 and took stock of the crowd and asked the station director to stop ticket sales and take necessary steps to control the crowd. The director was also instructed that as soon as the special trains are full, they should be dispatched immediately.

The real reason behind the stampede

The report said that while RPF officials were trying to clear the bridges, the Kumbh Special train was announced to depart from platform 12 at 8:45 pm. Shortly after, another announcement was made that the train would now depart from platform 16. This created panic among the passengers. Since passengers of Magadh Express, Uttar Sampark Kranti Express and Prayagraj Express were present on platforms 14 and 15, their movement was stopped and a stampede-like situation arose.

'CCTV was faulty'

Initial investigation revealed that the CCTV camera on the bridge and stairs where the stampede took place was not working, due to which no footage of the incident could be obtained. However, the CCTV behind the stairs, where the escalators are installed, was working.

'Lack of staff at the station'

According to a senior police officer, 270 RPF personnel are deployed for crowd management at New Delhi Railway Station, but at the time of the incident only 80 were on duty as the rest of the personnel were sent to Prayagraj.