Headload falling on other passengers caused stampede at New Delhi railway station that killed 18: Govt

Time of India

a day ago

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw
on Friday said that a big headload falling from one of the passengers led to the stampede at the
New Delhi railway station
that killed 18 people in February.
Vaishnaw revealed the findings of the high-level committee constituted to examine the circumstances leading to the stampede this year on February 15 in the
Rajya Sabha
.
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Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman asked the railway minister about the status of the report of the committee constituted to investigate the stampede and the corrective steps taken by the government.
Vaishnaw said the high-level inquiry committee has submitted its report for consideration.
"As per findings of the report, an unfortunate incident on 15.02.25 happened on foot overbridge-3 stairs connecting platform 14/15 at New Delhi railway station. On the day of the incident, sufficient crowd management protocols were in place to handle the overall volume of passengers at the station," he said.
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He added that there was a gradual increase on passengers, many of whom were also carrying big headloads.
"There was a gradual increase of passengers density on the FOB after 8.15 pm. Many of the passengers were carrying big headloads affecting smooth movement on the FOB.
'There was a big headload falling from one of the passengers and the pressure was passed on to the stairs of PF 14/15 stairs, resulting in the tripping of passengers on the stairs. This led to an incident at 8.48 pm on FOB-3, which was limited to the stairs of FOB. Consequently, passengers fell on each other."
Vaishnaw further said that 18 people died and 15 other were injured in the tragic incident, adding that an ex-gratia amount of Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased, an amount of Rs 2.5 lakh each to the grievously injured and Rs 1 lakh each to other injured has been paid.
"Accordingly, a total amount of Rs 2.01 crore has been paid to 33 victims and their family members," Vaishnaw said.
The railway minister said the government has taken actions to handle a large crowd at stations, including the creation of permanent holding areas and access control measures. This includes allowing passengers with confirmed tickets, widening foot overbridges, installing CCTV cameras, developing war rooms at big stations, among others.