The Railway Ministry has ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident.Sources said that railway authorities have also stepped up crowd management efforts at other stations experiencing a surge in passengers traveling to Prayagraj.In an official statement, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (railway) said platform number 14 had already very crowded when the Prayagraj Express train was waiting there for its departure.”As per CMI, every hour 1,500 general tickets were sold by railways due to which the station got overcrowded and became uncontrollable. There was a stampede at platform no.14 and near escalator near platform no.16,” the official said.Authorities immediately dispatched rescue teams, with four fire tenders deployed to assist with relief efforts.Delhi Fire Services (DFS) Chief Atul Garg confirmed that the situation was under control by the time the teams arrived.Earlier, the Northern Railways had dismissed reports of the stampede, calling it a rumour. However, hours later, its Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Himanshu Upadhyay, told mediapersons that passengers had pushed each other, which caused injuries to some of them.They were taken to hospitals for first aid, he said.Delhi LG VK Saxena expressed his grief at the deaths in a post on X, but later edited it, removing the bits where he mentioned the casualties.In his original post, Saxena said there was an “unfortunate and tragic” incident of “loss of lives and injuries” due to “disorder and stampede” at the New Delhi Railway Station.”My deepest condolences to the families of victims of this tragedy.”However, after about 15 minutes Saxena edited his post to delete the reference to deaths. No explanation was given.Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also took to X to express his condolences over the tragic incident. ” I am extremely pained by the loss of lives due to stampede on Railway platform. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. Praying for the speedy of the injured,” he said.
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