Amritsar Train Tragedy: Punjab CM Amarinder Singh Denies Inaction

The magisterial probe had held the organiser, the local administration and the gateman responsible for the accident.

A detailed report identifying the key people responsible for the Amritsar train tragedy, that killed 62 people, was submitted to the Punjab Home Ministry in November 2018 but till date there has been no arrests made.

Reacting to The Quint’s report, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh in a statement, denied “inaction” after the tragedy and said on Monday, 21 October, that departmental action had already been initiated against six police officers and seven employees of the Municipal Corporation Amritsar had been charge-sheeted in the case.

Singh said that “due action, as per the law, was being taken against all those found guilty, and there was no question of brushing the matter aside or burying the inquiry report.”

Nitish Singla, Joint Commissioner of Amritsar Municipal Corporation, told The Quint that the charge-sheeted employees continue to work in the corporation months after the charge sheet was initiated.

It is still unclear what action has been taken against the Congress councillor’s son Saurav Madan alias Mithoo, who was the President of the Dussehra festivities organising committee. The magisterial probe had found the organisers had no permission from any competent authority to hold Dussehra celebrations at the dhobi ghaat near Amritsar’s Joda Phatak.

Among others held responsible in the enquiry – headed by Divisional Commissioner of Jalandhar, B Purushartha – were members of the local administration, the police authorities and the railway gateman.

When asked about the status of the report, the additional chief secretary of Home Affairs and Justice, Satish Chandra, has told The Quint that “it does not come under his subject.”

Here are some of the key findings of the magisterial probe:

1. Organisers Did Not Have Permission to Hold Dussehra Celebrations at Dhobi Ghaat

• The seven members of the Dussehra Committee, including President Saurav Madan alias Mithoo, were found guilty of not taking permission from any competent authorities – Police Commissionerate, Municipal Corporation or the Improvement Trust (which owns a part of the land where the event was organised).
• The probe found that the Dussehra committee had sent out request letters asking for facilities such as security, fire tenders, water tankers, etc due to the presence of public personalities. And while they did not take any permission to organise the event, they had received a conditional No Objection letter from the Deputy Commissioner of police in Amritsar to hold the event.
• The first condition of the approval letter by the Deputy Commissioner was that the organisers must have obtained approval/permission about place/land from the Municipal Corporation. But since the organising committee had no such permission, the approval was null and void.

• The probe had also indicted Vijay Madan, Mithoo’s mother, for being actively involved in organising the event.
• It was also found that the organisers had not informed the Railways about the event being held at the site. Had the Railways been intimated, they could have issued a caution order for controlled and alerted movements of trains in that area.

2. Clean Chit to Sidhus

The probe had given a clean chit to Navjot Singh Sidhu and his wife, who was the chief guest at the event. The report had said that Navjot Kaur Sidhu had merely come to the event as a chief guest and had no role in organising the event.

3. Fire Tender, Water Tankers Sent to Site Without Checking For Municipal Corporation’s Permission

• Without checking whether the event organised had requisite permission or not, Assistant Divisional Fire Officer and Municipal Corporation Supervisor had sent fire tenders and water tankers to the spot, without realising that this act could be deemed as an approval by the municipal corporation to hold the event.
• The report also held Sushant Bhatia, Estate Officer, and Kewal Krishan, Area Inspector, responsible for failing to discharge their duty to ensure that no event is organised in this land without the permission of the municipal corporation.

4. Police Failed to Check For Permission & Stop Event

• Mithoo Madan, in his letter to the District Police Saanjh Kendra, had only requested security for the event because of the presence of VIPs. The district police had forwarded the letter to Saanjh Kendra of Mokhanpura Police Station, where the concerned officials, without even reading the content of the letter, forwarded an NOC to the DCP office.

• The police authorities at the Mokhanpura station and the concerned Beat in-charge did not check if the site was safe enough to hold a function, nor did they check if the organisers have fulfilled the requirements for public display of fireworks as per the relevant provisions of The Explosives Act, 1884, and the Explosives Rules, 2008.
• The report also held responsible Additional SHO Avtar Singh and Beat in-charge Satnam Singh for not following up or checking the site before issuing the NOC. The concerned persons failed to stop the event even though the conditional permission stood cancelled on the day of the event (in the light of not fulfilling proper requirements.)

5. Benefit of the Doubt to DEMU Train Driver, Gateman Held Responsible

• The driver of the Diesel Engine Multiple Unit (DEMU) train was given "the benefit of the doubt" and a clean chit even though the enquiry found that there was a delay in applying the brake, which could have slowed down the train in time and given people more time to escape.
• The probe had, however, found the drivers of the trains passing through that area from 4 pm to 7 pm guilty of not informing the Railways even though they spotted a crowd on the tracks.
• The gateman of the level crossing at the other end was also held responsible for delaying to inform the guard at the Joda Phatak crossing about the crowd even though he had spotted it an hour ago. He did not even inform the station masters and kept giving green signals to all approaching trains.

• Another probe conducted by Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety (CCRS) had given a clean chit to the Railways and blamed the incident on the “negligence and trespassing” of the people. The magisterial probe, however, questioned the method of enquiry used by the Railways in which it gave itself a clean chit.

6. People Took Selfies on the Tracks, Refused to Move

The inquiry that scanned through various videos taken before the accident found many spectators standing on and around the railway tracks taking selfies. In one of the videos, the probe committee also found that people refused to move from the tracks even after police officers present at the site asked them to. It was found that at least one announcement was made from the stage warning people against standing on the tracks.

Some of the witnesses of the accident told The Quint that when they had raised concerns with a few police personnel present at the spot, they had assured them that no train will be passing through the tracks during the event.

Dussehra events in Joda Phatak have been celebrated on the Dhobi Ghaat ground for a long time, but last year’s event was on a grander scale than normal, with a singer, a chief guest and a 95-feet high Ravan effigy. Witnesses also told The Quint that posters of the event were circulated for about a week to create a buzz.

This story was first published on 19 October and has been updated with CM Amarinder Singh’s response.