Amritsar train accident: Witnesses claim that the train driver lied, protests erupt

Eyewitnesses rubbished the claims of the driver of the passenger train that killed over 61 people in Amritsar during the Dussehra event. They state that he did not slow down the train at the spot of the accident. Local residents rejected the driver’s statement in which he said that he had decided to not stop the train after the crowd started throwing stones.

Municipal councillor, Shailender Singh Shally while recounting the events of night of the accident on October 19 said that the train didn’t even slow down, let alone stop.

“I was at the spot. Leave alone stopping, the train did not even slow down. It seemed as if the driver wanted to mow us down. The train passed us in a matter of seconds,” PTI quoted Shailender Singh Shally, as saying. “Is it logically possible for us to pelt stones at the train when so many people were dead and injured around us? Is it possible for us to get our bearings after such an incident and pelt stones at a speeding train? The driver is lying,” he said.

The driver in his statement on Saturday, October 20, said that he applied “emergency brakes” as he saw the crowd on the tracks but “still some people were caught in the path of the train”. He also said that he continuously blew the horn to get people off the tracks.

The driver said people started throwing stones at the train when it was “almost on the verge of stopping” and so, keeping in mind the safety of his passengers, he continued towards Amritsar and informed officials about the accident.

Paramjeet Singh, another witness, also refuted the driver's claims, saying that there are many videos showing how fast the train was going. Most people according to him didn’t even have a chance to react. All that could be heard was the sound of people screaming and crying.

According to Divisional Railway Manager Vivek Kumar, the maximum speed of the train, which was a Diesel Electrical Multiple Unit (DEMU) is 96 kmph. Once brakes are applied, this kind of train comes to a halt in about 300 metres if empty, and in 600 metres if it has a full complement of passengers, officials said. The last recorded speed of the train was 68 kmph.

Police personnel who were there on the scene and had witnessed the tragedy agreed with the local residents, maintaining that none of the claims made by the driver were true. "As far as I know, there was no stone throwing at the spot of the accident," said Mohkampura police station officer Sukhminder Singh, adding that the train had not slowed down either.

“As far as I know, there has been no stone pelting at the spot of the accident when the train passed,” Sukhminder Singh, SHO of Mohkampura police station under whose jurisdiction the area falls.

Angry locals had warned that they would not let any train pass on the route unless their demands were met. They were demanding action against the train driver and the event organisers, besides enhanced compensation from the government. Some protesters even pelted the residence of Saurabh Madan Mithu, the organiser of the event, who went absconding after the incident. They managed to break several windows at his residence. Police managed to bring the situation under control and place the neighbourhood under guard. Opposition parties blamed the ruling Congress, accusing its leaders of negligence.

Amid tension and tight security, train services were partially restored on the Amritsar-Jalandhar railway section as the Punjab Police booked unidentified protesters. A near-empty passenger train plied on the railway section amid tight security measures.

The opposition party Shiromani Akali Dal demanded that the Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu should be sacked and a judicial probe should be conducted into the events that led to the accident.

Senior Railway officials were not available for comment on the matter officially.