No, the Amritsar Train Accident’s Driver Hasn’t Killed Himself

The man in the circulated videos is not the train driver, but a shopkeeper in Amritsar who killed himself.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Altered by The Quint)

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CLAIM

After the tragic train accident in Amritsar on 19 October, in which at least 62 Dussehra revellers lost their lives, people on social media claimed that the train driver had killed himself out of guilt.

People shared this news with pictures, video, and a suicide note that they claimed had been written by the driver.

The post has been shared by multiple people on various social networking sites.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

(Photo Courtesy: Facebook)

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

The alleged video of the driver’s suicide too has gone viral. However, there is no truth to the claims made.

Let us break it down for you.

VERDICT: TRUE OR FALSE?

There seems to be no truth behind the claim that the man in the video/pictures is the train driver, and that the driver killed himself after the Dussehra incident.

Firstly, speaking to The Quint, CPRO of Northern Railways confirmed that the driver is safe and sound. The same was reiterated by the Commissioner of Police of Amritsar City, SS Srivastava.

Secondly, the letter which is being passed off as the driver’s suicide note is, in reality, his statement to the railway authorities in which he said that he applied the emergency brakes in an attempt to stop the train, but then sped off after people began pelting the train with stones.

Screengrab of the statement submitted by the train driver to the Railway authorities. (Photo: Screengrab of the letter)

BACKGROUND

The videos and the pictures that are being circulated are from another incident that happened on Saturday, 20 October, near Jhawal Road in Bohru, Amritsar.

A source from the Bohru police station told The Quint that the person in the circulated video is Harpal Singh, a shopkeeper in Amritsar, who was in great distress for work-related reasons. He had been a shopkeeper for four years, but his business had dwindled.

Singh was depressed and had attempted suicide multiple times in the past, the source added.

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