40-minute delay in Delhi stampede response? What Railways, fire officials say
NDLS Stampede: The stampede at the New Delhi railway station was triggered due to an announcement that a special Kumbh train would arrive at platform 16 after an earlier announcement that it would come on platform 12, triggering confusion among passengers, an RPF report said.
Passengers board an overcrowded train for Prayagraj's Maha Kumbh at the New Delhi railway station on February 15. (Photo: PTI)
New Delhi,UPDATED: Feb 18, 2025 11:09 ISTEdited By: jayprakash
In Short
- Report says New Delhi station became overcrowded due to Kumbh-bound travellers
- RPF suggested Railways to run early special Kumbh trains to ease rush
- Announcement of similar train for Kumbh caused chaos, led to stampede
There was a delay of over 40 minutes in making a distress call after the deadly stampede at the New Delhi railway station on February 15, which killed 18 people, according to a report prepared by the Railway Protection Force (RPF). However, there was a time discrepancy between the incident occurrence by the Railways, fire officials and the Delhi Police.
The Railways said in their official communication that the stampede occurred at 9.15 pm. However, the Delhi Fire Services maintained it got the first call from the Delhi Police at 9.55 pm. But according to the RPF's report accessed by India Today TV, the stampede occurred at 8.48 pm and the information on the same was provided to the on-duty station in-charge.
India Today TV earlier reached out to the Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of Northern Railway, Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, over the delay in making the distress call. However, a response is still awaited.
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