New Delhi Railway Station stampede | Special train announcement, rush to platform: Probe looks at likely reasons

According to senior officials, the confusion was created because of four trains headed to Prayagraj, venue of the ongoing Maha Kumbh.

A senior official said: “There were a total of four trains, en route to Prayagraj, involved in this: The Shiv Ganga Express which leaves at 8.05 pm; the Magadh Express which leaves at 9.05 pm; the Prayagraj Express which leaves at 10.10 pm; and a special train that was planned in between. Although the crowd was huge, it was not unusual given the Maha Kumbh.”

“First, the second class passengers tried to enter Shiv Ganga Express and hundreds of them could not get inside. This was on Platform 12. Some of them rushed to Platform 14 where boarding was on for the Magadh Express. The Uttar Sampark Kranti Express, which was en route to Katra in Jammu, was on Platform 15. Because there were many passengers headed to Prayagraj, they could not enter the Magadh Express. They kept waiting for the Prayagraj Express which was about to come. But in the meantime, there was an announcement that a special train for Prayagraj was coming on Platform 12. This was the trigger for the sudden movement of passengers to the other side,” the official said.

“The footover bridge, which connects Platform 16 to Platform 1, was already extremely crowded. As the passengers from Platform 14 took the stairs and started moving upward, a crowd began coming from the opposite site. One thing led to another. The incident happened between 9 and 9.20 pm,” the official said.

The committee, the official said, had taken note of crowd mismanagement and was examining whether or not an appropriate number of personnel had been deployed on the platform.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Railways) KPS Malhotra said, “Due to the weekend, many passengers were trying to board trains going towards Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh between 9 and 10 pm. At the same time, two trains – Uttar Sampark Kranti and a Rajdhani Express train – were also delayed due to which the number of passengers increased on Platforms 12, 13 and 14.”

The Indian Express has learnt that 9,600 general class tickets were sold between 6 pm and 8 pm on Saturday.

Sanjay Kumar, from Sangam Vihar in Delhi who was heading to Prayagraj along with 11 family members, said they had to board the Prayagraj Express at 10.10 pm. His sister Pinki Devi (37) was among those who died in the incident. “… I found my sister after half an hour… then we tried to give her CPR and pressed her chest several times but to no avail.”

“We were on the platform for around an hour and kept trying to save her. No one (from the authorities) came until then,” Sanjay said, adding that he and other family members had to cross another railway track to exit the railway station and rush his sister to hospital.

On Sunday morning, Delhi Police released the list of the 18 dead and said inquest proceedings and further legal actions had been initiated. The inquiry into the incident was being conducted by the Railways, police said.

According to the DCP, prima facie it appears that misinformation or confusion may have led to the incident.

Narsingh Deo, one of the two members of the committee, told The Indian Express: “We will call all witnesses and hold a detailed inquiry. Only after that will we be able to say anything about the reason for the incident. As soon as this process is complete, all the facts will come to light. All the CCTV footage have been secured. We will say whatever we have to say in the report.”

He did not comment on claims about the sudden announcement of the special train to Prayagraj.