Delay in the departure of several trains at the New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS) on Sunday night led to a heavy rush of passengers at platforms 12 and 13, police officers and railway officials said, but clarified that no stampede took place, and that no injuries were reported.
The incident brought back memories of the recent stampede at NDLS on February 15, in which 18 people were killed. However, officials said the situation on Sunday, which took place at around 9pm, was swiftly brought under control.
“There was no stampede, only some extra crowd and heavy rush. Due to the delay (in departure) of a few trains, extra rush had built up. After the trains left, the situation was better,” DCP (railway) KPS Malhotra said.
According to police, the departure of four trains got delayed — the Shiv Ganga Express (scheduled to depart at 8.05pm), the Jammu Rajdhani Express (scheduled departure of 9.25pm), Lucknow Mail (scheduled departure 10pm), and Magadh Express (scheduled departure 9.05pm). Adding to the confusion was the Swatantrata Senani Express, which was scheduled to depart at 9.15pm but was already occupying the platform.
“Due to the cumulative effect of the delays, there was heavy passenger congestion at platforms 12 and 13. Necessary crowd control measures had to be promptly taken to avoid any untoward incident,” said an officer. A Northern Railways PRO said, “There was heavy rush but no stampede or stampede-like situation at NDLS.” An RPF official said, “We reached the platform as a precautionary measure. But nothing happened, we just dispersed the crowd as the trains started coming.”
{{/usCountry}}“Due to the cumulative effect of the delays, there was heavy passenger congestion at platforms 12 and 13. Necessary crowd control measures had to be promptly taken to avoid any untoward incident,” said an officer. A Northern Railways PRO said, “There was heavy rush but no stampede or stampede-like situation at NDLS.” An RPF official said, “We reached the platform as a precautionary measure. But nothing happened, we just dispersed the crowd as the trains started coming.”
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