Amritsar train accident: LED screen facing tracks drew many to death, suspect eyewitnesses

A speeding passenger train mowed down at least 61 people in Amritsar and left many injured when the crowd was watching the Ravan’s effigy going up in flames.

Even as a magisterial probe into the Amritsar train accident on Dussehra is under way, eyewitnesses suspect that a giant LED screen facing the railway tracks could be a major reason behind the tragedy and the high death toll.

People gather at the scene of an accident along railroad tracks in Amritsar on October 20, 2018, after revelers who gathered on the tracks were killed by a moving train on October 19.(Sameer Sehgal/HT Photo)

A speeding passenger train mowed down at least 61 people and left many injured when the crowd was watching the Ravan’s effigy going up in flames. Witnesses said the organisers’ idea to install a LED screen facing the railway tracks drew hundreds of revellers to a life-threatening situation.

The main organiser, Saurabh Madaan Meethu, who has gone underground since the tragedy, had reportedly installed a big LED screen facing the railway tracks so that more people could watch the event.

“If the LED screen had been installed on the other side, this incident could have been averted or the death toll probably would have been much less,” said Manmohan Singh, an eyewitness to the mishap.

The family of Dalbir Singh who played Ravan’s role at Ramlila and died while trying to saving others, also blamed the organiser for installing the LED near the tracks which attracted the crowds.

Eyewitnesses said the crowd shifted to the track where the mishap took place after another train crossed the other track minutes before.

“The first train was slow, while the second train was in speed. The sound of the horn was lost in the din of firecrackers,” one Pawan Sharma said. He also said Ravan’s effigy was to scheduled to be set ablaze between 5pm to 5.30 pm, but event was delayed as the VIP guests arrived late. “Had Ravan’s effigy been burnt on time, people or the train driver could have assessed the situation better,” he said.

Ramesh Kumar, another eyewitness, said railways never gave permission to hold the Dussehra event at the site. “Last year, the Dussehra event was not held there for want of permission, but this year it did take place without the railways permission,” he said.

Except last year, the Dusshera event had been organised at the site for 29 years, he said.

Kumar also said that in previous years, announcements used to be made from the stage asking people to keep away from tracks. He claimed that no such announcement was made this time.

Some people also claimed that a few years back, former Congress councillor Bhupinder Singh Pindi had suggested shifting the venue to Rasulpur Kalra village but nobody paid heed to him.