Blocked staircase, crowding near escalators and platforms, passengers gasping for air, people running and falling over each other – the horrifying scenes at the New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday night led to the deaths of at least 18 passengers who were to board trains to attend the Maha Kumbh. Several others were left injured.
The massive stampede left thousands trapped at the NDLS as help arrived almost 30-45 minutes later. By then, helpless families tried calling their relatives, resuscitating the victims and calling railway/police officers for help. Most of the victims were women, who were either with friends or family and died due to injuries and/or suffocation.
Also read: Delayed trains, blocked staircase: What led to stampede at New Delhi railway station
Passengers blamed how the crowd kept building after 6-7 pm and the delayed trains – Swantrata Senani Express and Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani – led to further issues as the crowd got “uncontrollable”.
Manoj Shah, a factory worker at Tikri border, rushed to Lok Nayak Hospital around 12.45 pm. He lost his 11-year-old daughter Suruchi Shah and his in-laws Vijay Shah and Krishna Shah to the stampede. “I can’t believe I lost my little girl. My wife is shattered and is inside. They (hospital admin) are not even letting me go inside. It was late when my brother-in-law called. He along with my in-laws and Suruchi were going to Maha Kumbh. He just called me and told me “Bhagdad Ho Rahi Bhaiya. Sab Alag Ho Gye. Please Bachao”. I almost fell on the floor. I called him again and he told me people were running over each other. I told him to look for my daughter first….” he said.
It took the family almost an hour to find each other. Shah alleged that authorities arrived very late and took victims to Lok Nayak and other hospitals. “I just kept calling my brother-in-law and reached her somehow…Suruchi was my only daughter. What will we do now? My wife lost her parents. They all just wanted to visit the Kumbh area. What was their fault? Why did the police come so late? My daughter could have survived but she was run over by scores of people, she was in the 5th standard…I can’t talk now,” he added.
Follow latest updates of the stampede here: New Delhi Railway Station stampede updates: High-level probe ordered after 18 killed
A 30-year-old Delhi-based nurse, Sangeeta Malik, had also planned a trip to Maha Kumbh with her friends (other nurses). She had recently lost her job but her family said she was a devotee who was aspirational. Malik came from her husband’s house in Sonipat to her aunt’s place in Rohini. Her aunt, Kavita Sehgal, was in tears as she looked at families pushing each other to meet the victims. She stood behind her son and softly asked the hospital authorities about Malik.
“She came to my house today. I am very fond of her and always like to talk to her. But she told me she had to leave soon to catch a train. She told me to give her tiffin and prepare her favourite Saag Sabzi. I made Saag for her and she left. I just can’t believe she is no more. I think her friends also died. I don’t know about them…They were all sweet girls who wanted to visit Kumbh. She had recently got the tickets. How could this happen? The police did not even inform us. We received a call from an unknown man who picked up her phone after seeing her body and called me. She was run over and she died….” said Sehgal.
Many families complained that some change in a train’s schedule led to further chaos. While the stampede occurred around 9.30-9.45 pm, the police and ambulances came much late, many alleged.
Pappu Kumar, a worker from Kapashera, showed photos of his mother-in-law and others sitting on a bench at the railway station. Sitting happily with her family members and grandchildren who had come to see her off, Poonam Gupta (50) was going back home to Sonpur, Bihar but died in the stampede.
Visibly shaken and angry, Pappu said it was a “disaster”. “There is no humanity here. Everyone was mercilessly jumping and running. We managed to escape but my mother-in-law died. We had just gone to drop her at the station but could have also died. There was no space to breathe, sit or stand. I was there. Helpless. We were all screaming as one side of the staircase was blocked and the escalator was full. We had no place. The crowd was moving from two sides. She had just come to stay with her daughter Pammi (Pappu’s wife) and me. She was going back home. What was her fault? There was no help for at least 45 minutes. By then, she had died. We were all hiding near the stairs to save ourselves,” said Pappu.
Almost 37 members of the Giri family in Delhi’s Prem Nagar were going to attend the Maha Kumbh via Delhi. Luckily, many of them did not get tickets but six of them managed to get Tatkal tickets. Seelam Devi, 50, died after she suffocated to death because of the crowding, her family said. Her husband, Umesh Giri, runs a printing press in Rohini. Her sister-in-law, Meena Devi, was in tears. She said, “Seelam didi, Umesh bhaiya and their four children were going to Kumbh. We got a call at 10 pm from her son, Aman Giri (25). He told us that scores of people walked over him and his mother. While he survived, she died. Umesh also fractured his leg as people pushed him. We all just wanted to see the Kumbh since we all have never been there. It’s been so many days since the fest. How can the government not make proper arrangements? Why were trains cancelled last minute? Why was there no security?” she said.
Meena said Seelam also wanted to go to Kumbh because one of her daughters got married in November and she wanted to seek blessings. She wanted to pray for her daughter’s married life and wanted to get her younger daughter married soon, said the family.
Sitting almost opposite them, Poonam Rohilla’s family members nearly argued with the police and hospital administration. Her son, who refused to be named, said, “We have been running from pillar to post since 10 pm. It’s 1 am now. My mother is dead. She had just wanted to visit Maha Kumbh with her friends. How can the government be so reckless? Do they care about human lives? We received a call from one of her friends about the incident” he said.
Rohilla’s husband, Virender, said he looked for hours at different hospitals and finally found Rohilla’s body at Lok Nayak. His sons were inconsolable as they had last seen their mother a few hours back, leaving the house with a smile and a bag pack.
Doctors at Lok Nayak confirmed that more than 15 bodies were at the hospital which are now being shifted to different mortuaries.