Days later, some families reunite with missing kin

Many of these survivors had lost their phones in Saturday’s chaos and were unable to contact their families.

Nearly 36 hours after a deadly stampede at New Delhi Railway Station killed 18 people, families of several “missing” individuals finally received news that their loved ones had survived. Many of these survivors had lost their phones in Saturday’s chaos and were unable to contact their families.

Grieving relatives of a deceased person outside the LNJP hospital on Sunday. (PTI)

Md Nadeem, 28, was one of them. His elder brother, Md Mujeeb, had spent two days frantically searching hospitals, mortuaries, and police stations. “After the news of the stampede, I kept calling him, but he never answered. My father lost hope. We were terrified,” Mujeeb said. On Monday morning, he finally received a call from an unknown number — it was Nadeem.

“He said he was safe and started crying. He had been pushed onto an unknown train and lost his bag and phone. He wanted to return home, but the crowd wouldn’t let him off,” Mujeeb said. Nadeem eventually disembarked at a station in Uttar Pradesh and found his way back to Delhi. He had gone nearly two days without food or water.

Many families had similar experiences, desperately searching for missing relatives with little help from authorities.

Chandan Kumar, a Ghaziabad resident, said his sister-in-law, Meena Devi, had left for the Maha Kumbh with friends but was unreachable after the stampede. “We couldn’t contact her or her friends. My brother was distraught, and their kids were crying. We checked five hospitals,” Kumar said.

On Sunday night, a friend of Devi’s finally called. “She was traumatised. She had to board a train forcefully because people were dying around her. She’s safe but shaken and doesn’t want to talk much,” he added. Devi, a factory worker in Delhi, had planned a three-day trip but decided to return home instead.

Shyam Kumar, a Bajrang Dal member, was also searching for his sister-in-law, Suneeta Kumar, who had gone to the Maha Kumbh with a neighbour.

“We dropped her at the station, and 15 minutes later, we heard about the stampede. My brother checked every hospital where the victims had been rushed to, and we called every helpline possible. The police beat him with lathis when he tried searching inside the railway station himself,” Shyam said.

On Monday morning, much to their relief, Suneeta called them, saying she had reached Prayagraj but lost her bag and phone.

“She was pushed, trampled, and robbed. She managed to get on a train but was crying for help. She is safe but terrified,” Shyam added. The family, from Mundka, urged her to return home soon.

Similarly, Shatrughan Kumar, 28, finally found his sister, Sushita Kumari, 23, whom he last saw at New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday night.

“I could only reach Platform 3 due to the crowd. She had to go to Platform 14 and insisted on going alone. After that, I lost contact,” he said.

Sushita later recounted that she had lost her phone in the stampede and saw bodies being carried away. “She was scared and just boarded a train. She is now coming back home.”