Devendra Singh Gujjar, a passenger from Delhi who had returned from Prayagraj by the Shiv Ganga Express, remarked, “We never faced any problems while taking dips at Mahakumbh, but inside the trains, the crowd was overwhelming. Even going to attend nature’s call was difficult for elderly passengers.”Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora visited the RPF office at New Delhi station to discuss the stampede. However, even after the tragedy, the deployment of RPF personnel remained inadequate until Sunday afternoon. Only two officers—a man and a woman—were seen attempting to manage the massive crowd single-handedly.The Ministry of Railways has now constituted a two-member panel to probe the incident. Dileep Kumar, Executive Director (Information & Publicity), confirmed that Narsingh Deo, Principal Chief Commercial Manager of Northern Railway, and Pankaj Gangwar, Principal Chief Security Commissioner of Northern Railway, would lead the investigation. Meanwhile, railway authorities have begun reviewing CCTV footage from the station to understand the sequence of events.Eyewitnesses present at the station during the tragedy stated that they had never seen such an overwhelming crowd in the past 20 years. A senior railway official admitted that the sheer number of passengers on Saturday had not been anticipated.Northern Railway’s Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Himanshu Upadhyay, explained, “At the time of the incident, the Patna-bound Magadh Express was stationed at platform 14, while the New Delhi-Jammu Uttar Sampark Kranti Express was at platform 15. Some people who were coming down from the footbridge towards platforms 14 and 15 using the stairs slipped and fell on others.”Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has continued to monitor the situation closely. On Sunday, he reviewed the developments with officials and also met with Home Minister Amit Shah. However, as investigations proceed, the key question remains—could this tragedy have been prevented?
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