Amritsar Train Accident: Everyone failed Punjab victims

It's the question that haunts the nation in the aftermath of the tragedy that saw 61 people dead and 90 hurt injured on Friday: How this catastrophe happen and who is responsible for it?

Saurabh Mittoo Madan, the organiser of the Ram Leela which drew the revellers on Friday night, had sought permission from the police for events staged from October 15 to October 19; But not from the city administration.

Madan, who is also the president of Dussehra Committee (East) and husband of Congress Councillor Vijay Madan, had sought security from the police as Cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu were to attend the festivities.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Amrik Singh Pawar said permission was given after the Station House Officer gave clearance to the site. The organisers had alerted the police that thousands of people would gather at the site and they didn't want to cause hurdles or stop the movement of traffic. The police gave the go-ahead, saying they had "no objections". However, it is reported that they never visited the spot to analyse the security arrangements and risks.

But the dhobi ghat of the posh Golden Avenue colony that lies beside the railway track cannot accommodate even 500 people. On the other side of the track is Krishna Nagar, home to daily-wage labourers and low-income groups.

To project Sidhu's address to a wide audience, huge LED screens were hung at Dhobi Ghat. This lured people from their houses and on to the tracks.

When the DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) train from Jalandhar came galloping down, its driver could not see the crowd covered in darkness. He only saw the people sitting down on the tracks suddenly when he got too near and by then it was too late.

He applied the brakes and the train slowed down, but the guard warned him that the mob had started pelting stones, so he sped away to Amritsar station He said in his statement that the train had been given the green signal and an 'all-clear' to proceed from the area.

Amit Singh, the gate-keeper at the level crossing, said that no permission had been sought for the event. He also said that the LEDs were placed facing the railway tracks, which would blind a train driver.

Furthermore, the organisers didn't have permissions from the municipal corporation, the pollution department and the Railways, which called the event a "clear case of trespassing".

After the incident, the head office called Amit Singh to tell him to shut the compound gates and leave as the angry mob might attack him. "I feel really sorry but it is not my fault," he said.