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New Delhi Railway Station Stampede: At least 18 people, including three children, died in a stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday night. The sudden rush of passengers who tried to board trains for the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj also resulted in many passengers getting injured.

Following this, the Ministry of Railways said a high-level inquiry has been ordered into the “unfortunate incident". The sudden surge in passengers caused “panic" which led to passengers fainting amid the “unprecedented rush situation", it said in a statement.

Although eyewitnesses claimed that a last-minute platform change announcement for the special train to Prayagraj caused panic, the Railways has denied any such change.

What Delhi police said on the reason behind the stampede

The Delhi police said that the arrival of another special train to Prayagraj – the Prayagraj Special – on platform number 16 confused the passengers who were waiting for the special train on platform number 14.

The police said, “The announcement of the Prayagraj Special arriving at Platform 16 led to confusion because the Prayagraj Express was already at Platform 14. People who could not reach their train at Platform 14 thought their train was arriving at Platform 16 leading to the stampede. Additionally, four other trains were heading to Prayagraj, out of which three were delayed, causing unexpected overcrowding."

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The Railways has formed a two-member high-level committee to probe the incident which included Narsingh Deo, Principal Chief Commercial Manager of Northern Railway and Pankaj Gangwar, Principal Chief Security Commissioner of Northern Railway.

The committee gave orders to secure all video footage of the New Delhi Railway Station. Railways announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the victims, Rs 25 lakh for those seriously injured, and Rs 1 lakh for individuals with minor injuries.

What enquiry report into New Delhi Railway Station stampede showed

An inquiry report into the New Delhi Railway Station stampede revealed that an announcement for a special train for Maha Kumbh devotees and a sudden surge in the sale of tickets to Prayagraj were factors that led to the tragic incident.

As per the report, accessed by Aaj Tak, railway authorities were issuing approximately 1,500 general tickets every hour for Prayagraj. Hundreds of passengers were waiting on platform 14 to board a train for Prayagraj, while a large number of travellers also gathered at the adjacent platform 13 to board the Swatantrata Senani Express, it noted.

“Considering the increasing crowds and continuous ticket sales, at around 10 pm, the railway authorities announced a special train to Prayagraj from platform 16. Upon hearing this announcement, the passengers with general tickets, who were waiting on platform 14, rushed towards 16 by crossing the foot overbridge," the report said.