The Delhi Police on Sunday said that confusion between Prayagraj Express and Prayagraj Special led to the New Delhi Railway station stampede that claimed the lives of 18 people, including children. The Delhi police said that the initial of the two trains was the same, and it led to confusion among the passengers during the announcement as the Special was scheduled to arrive on platform number 16 while the Express was already on platform number 14.
The Delhi Police said, “The confusion happened because of the announcement of the trains having the same initial name starting with ‘Prayagraj’. The announcement of the Prayagraj Special arriving at Platform 16 led to confusion because the Prayagraj Express was already at Platform 14. People who couldn’t reach their train at Platform 14 thought their train was arriving at Platform 16 leading to the stampede. Additionally, there were 4 trains heading to Prayagraj, out of which 3 were delayed, causing unexpected overcrowding.”
Meanwhile, the Indian Railways have announced the formation of a two-member committee has been formed to investigate the incident. The committee comprises Narsingh Deo, Northern Railway’s Principal Chief Commercial Manager (PCCM), and Pankaj Gangwar, its Principal Chief Safety Commissioner (PCSC), the railways said on Sunday.
The committee has initiated a High-Level Inquiry (HAG) into the incident, the Railways said. As part of the investigation, the committee has ordered securing of all video footage from the Railway Station to aid in the probe.
The tragedy occurred at 10 p.m., on Saturday as lakhs of devotees were heading to Prayagraj for the Maha Kumbh 2025 festival, causing significant overcrowding at the station.
The deceased were identified as Aaha Devi, 79, Pinky Devi, 41, Sheela Devi, 50, Vyom, 25, Poonam Devi, 40, Lalita Devi, 35, Suruchi, 11; Krishna Devi, 40, Vijay Sah, 15, Neeraj, 12, Shanti Devi, 40, Pooja Kumar, 8, Sangeeta Malik and Poonam, both aged 34, Mamta Jha, 40, Riya Singh, 7, Baby Kumari, 24, and Manoj, 47.
