Amritsar Train Accident: It was a satanic act, says Eyewitness

The railway tracks are splattered red. Slippers and clothes lie scattered on the half-kilometre stretch at Jaura Phatak; As do human remains.

Locals scour this gory scene at 9 am on Saturday to identify missing loved ones.

Congress party flags, snacks and broken carts lie strewn around — an echo of the carnival atmosphere of Friday night.

 

 
           

The train tracks slice the posh Golden Avenue colony and the unauthorised Krishna Nagar in two, clean, distinctive halves.

The tragedy did not claim anyone from Golden Avenue; only those from Krishna Nagar fell prey to the calamity.

Most of the deceased are migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. A senior official from the district administration says they were mostly employed in the industrial area located a stone's throw away from the accident.

The air is thick with overwhelming grief — elders, women and children sit in groups either wailing for loved ones, or consoling neighbours. The men make arrangements to perform last rites. Mass funerals have been held all Saturday.

The local councillor and administration are wound up to counter mob rage that could erupt any moment. Police personnel and paramilitary forces have been deployed, and they outnumber locals at the scene.

 

 
           

The train mowed down people sitting on the tracks on Friday and the resultant stampede made the situation worse.

There was no authority to control the chaos; it was all up to the locals.

Jagunandan, a 40-year-old labourer from Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh, said he was not standing near the tracks but was pushed as people started running after the Ravan effigy was set afire. His head and legs were injured.

Many of the victims were children. Radha Bhatt, a 32-year-old, is thanking divinity that she did not allow her children to go down to the festivities. "They (rescue workers) are gathering body parts. It was Satanic act," she says and bursts into tears.


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