New Delhi Railway Station stampede: Kins of deceased and injured distraught after a massive stampede

Kins of victims of the New Delhi Railway Station stampede breakdown outside the LNJP hospital.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

As the news of death of at least 15 people due to a stampede at the New Delhi Railway station reached the mobile and telephone screens of the people, kins of pilgrims boarding trains to Prayagraj poured in numbers in front of the various hospitals of the Capital. 

32-year-old Opil Singh, a resident of Delhi’s West Sagarpur, who lost his 7-year-old daughter in the stampede recalled that he had packed his bags and set on the journey to visit Kumbh with his two daughters, brother and wife around 6 pm from his residence. Holding five general tickets in his hand, the family first attempted to board a train to Prayagraj at 8:10 p.m., however due to overcrowding they couldn’t make their way to the train. 

“The station was so crowded that we couldn’t reach the train and from a distance we saw that there was no place for a grain inside the train as well,” he said. 

The family then waited to take the next train around 9 p.m. from platform 14 when the crowd grew exponentially as people could not board the already full trains. 

“In a rush to board trains, people kept pushing each other to find a way, soon they started climbing atop each other,” he said. Breaking down mid sentence, Mr. Singh said that in a matter of few minutes, he lost sight of his 7-year-old daughter Ayu Singh. 

Omi Singh holding photograph of daughter Ayu Singh (deceased) in the New Delhi railway station stampede.
| Photo Credit:
Alisha Dutta

“When we found her, we saw that her chest was soaked in blood and a part of the barbed wire had pierced through her head,” he added. 

While government officials from Delhi Fire Service and Railway Ministry said that CRPF and police officers were sent to the spot along with emergency services, 29-year-old Kapil Singh, the deceased’s uncle told The Hindu that there were no police officers on the platform during the stampede or even much after the incident.

Kapil Singh, pilgrim and a victim of the New Delhi railway station stampede
| Photo Credit:
Alisha Dutta

“There were no police officers anywhere to help us, when I approached one officer, instead of helping me find my niece he started hitting me with a stick,” he said. With stolen wallets and phones, and without slippers, the family boarded an auto from the station to reach Lady Hardinge hospital where their 7-year-old daughter was declared brought dead. 

35-year-old Sharda Devi and her daughter Khushi Kumari, who are admitted for having incurred injuries recall how people climbed on each other when the train arrived. “We were climbing down the steps to platform 14, when suddenly people stopped moving forward as if they had been stopped mid way and people started pushing and soon they started climbing on each other,” she said said.

Sarda Devi, victim of the New Delhi railway station stampede.
| Photo Credit:
Alisha Dutta

Khushi Kumari, victim of the New Delhi railway station stampede.
| Photo Credit:
Alisha Dutta

Adding to that 12-year-old Khushi Kumari says that for more than 30 mins she struggled to get up but was gradually pushed further down with people pouring in. “I couldn’t even see my mother and I was gasping for air but they kept walking over me and after sometime, I lost consciousness,” she said.

At RML Hospital, where a majority of the dead bodies have been kept, kins of the deceased broke down when they received the confirmation of their death. 

53-year-old Kavita Sehgal broke down as she saw her niece 30-year-old Sageeta Mallick’s unconscious body on the stretcher. “When we inquired about her, the hospital authorities were not even telling us she was here, we got to know after I saw her body on the stretcher,” she said. Further adding that the resident of Rohini was travelling with her colleagues-nurses, to Prayagraj. “She had packed chana saag from my house while leaving and had called me around 7 pm when she reached the station,” she said adding that after that the calls did not go through. 

Unable to speak, 13-year-old Ronit broke down over call to his aunt informing that his mother Suneeta Devi had succumbed to the injuries incurred during the stampede. “Aunt please come as soon as you can, my mother is no more,” he said as he cried over the phone. 

Meanwhile, those like 30-year-old Sujit, resident of Burari went from one hospital to another in search for his mother and sister. “The police, hospital authorities, nobody is telling us if they are injured or dead. They are just misguiding us,” he said . Adding that he had visited RML Hospital, Lady Hardinge and LNJP Hospital in search for his kins but were yet to find them.