Saurabh Madan Mithu, son of local Congress councillor Vijay Madan, whose family organised the Dussehra event in Amritsar that ended with the death of 62 spectators on a railway track has released a video and pleaded not guilty.
Saurabh Madan Mithu, son of local Congress councillor Vijay Madan, whose family organised the Dussehra event in Amritsar that ended with the death of 62 spectators on a railway track has released a video and pleaded not guilty.
The tragic incident took place on Friday evening when a crowd of Dussehra revellers that had spilled onto railway tracks while watching the burning of a Ravana effigy was run over by a train near Joda Phatak here. At least 300 people were watching the 'Ravana dahan' at a ground adjacent to the tracks.
Mithu who is absconding since the incident took place was seen fleeing the accident site.
In a video posted by ANI on a Twitter handle, Mithu says that he had taken all the required permissions for the event.
"I had taken all permissions and had alerted crowd at least 10 times to not stand on tracks. I am extremely pained by the incident," he says in a video posted from an unknown location.
He also claimed that some people are trying to defame him. With teary eyes, Mithu also says that he is extremely pained by the incident.
Earlier, some people also hurled stones at the house of Mithu.
Meanwhile, a 19-year-old man injured in Friday's train tragedy succumbed to his wounds taking the death toll to 62.
Harsh, a resident of ward number 24, succumbed to his injuries on Sunday.
As a blame game played out over the Dusshera tragedy, the police admitted they gave the organisers a no-objection certificate but said the event where a train mowed revellers also needed permission from the municipal corporation.
A leaked letter indicated that the organisers the family of a local Congress councillor had also sought security arrangements at the venue where Punjab minister Navjot Sidhu and his ex-MLA wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu were expected, reported PTI.
A video that surfaced on social media-fuelled accusations against Navjot Kaur Sidhu, the chief guest at the event. It purportedly showed her being told by someone else on the dais that people were standing on the railway tracks.
Opposition parties, including the Akali Dal, BJP and AAP, demanded action those who allowed the event. The Akali Dal demanding Navjot Singh Sidhu's dismissal from Punjab's Congress government.
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