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Bengal stampede: FIR lodged against unknown persons

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the railways “negligence and callousness” caused the tragedy as she ordered an administrative probe.

Bengal stampede: FIR lodged against unknown persons

Representational Image (Photo: Facebook)

Following the incident of stampede on a footbridge at Santragachhi junction that killed two people and injured a dozen on Tuesday, an FIR was lodged on Wednesday against unknown persons, a Government Railway Police (GRP) official said.

The tragedy happened around 6 pm on Tuesday at the busy railway junction station under the South Eastern Railway due to overcrowding on the overbridge as commuters hurriedly tried to reach their designated platforms after an announcement of two trains coming simultaneously on two adjacent tracks was made.

The passengers rushed to their platforms as Nagercoil-Shalimar Express and two EMU locals arrived there around the same time.

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South Eastern Railway spokesman Sanjay Ghosh informed that Shalimar-Vishakhapatnam Express and Santragachi-Chennai Express were also scheduled to arrive shortly.

“An FIR has been registered under various sections of the IPC for voluntarily causing grievous hurt and death by negligence against the unknown persons who might be responsible for the incident,” an officer from Santragachhi GRP said.

The railway authorities confirmed the death of two persons in a release and said it has ordered an enquiry into the matter.

The deceased were identified as Kala Kanti Singh (32) of East Midnapore and Taser Sardar (61) of Murshidabad.

“Railway authority has ordered an enquiry in connection with the unfortunate incident,” the release said.

The department had also announced a compensation package of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased, Rs 1 lakh for the seriously injured and Rs 50,000 for those with minor injuries.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met the injured on Tuesday evening at the hospital.

She also said that the railways “negligence and callousness” caused the tragedy as she ordered an administrative probe on behalf of the state government.

“Security of people should not be compromised, and railway should take proper care of the people. Railway is the lifeline of the country, it should not be derailed,” she said.

After the incident, the chief minister took to Twitter and posted, “Another unfortunate incident on railways today. Sadly, too many such tragedies are happening like this even during festive season, including Amritsar. Railways are the lifeline of our nation. Safety of rail passengers must be taken care of  at all times.”

(With agency inputs)

 

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