'Big headload fell from one of the passengers': Ashwini Vaishnaw on Delhi station tragedy that killed 18

In response to a query by Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman in Rajya Sabha, Vaishnaw shared details from the report by a high-level inquiry committee that was constituted to examine the circumstances leading to the "unfortunate incident".

Suman had asked the Railway Minister about the status of the report of the committee constituted to probe the stampede and the corrective steps taken by the government.

Eighteen people were killed and 15 were injured on February 15 at the New Delhi Railway Station, which witnessed a surge of passengers waiting to board trains for Prayagraj, where the Maha Kumbh was underway at the time.

However, the Railway Minister's statement, had no mention of the word "stampede".

On the day of the tragedy, around 49,000 general tickets were sold at the railway stations, 13,000 more than the daily average, Vaishnaw had informed the Lok Sabha in March.

In his response on Friday, the minister stated that sufficient crowd management measures were in place that day to manage the high number of passengers at the station.

There was a "gradual increase of passenger density on the foot over bridge (FOB) after 8.15 pm", mentioned the written reply.

"Many of the passengers were carrying big headloads, affecting smooth movement on the FOB. There was a big headload falling from one of the passengers, and the pressure was passed on to the stairs of platforms 14 and 15, resulting in the tripping of passengers on the stairs. This led to an incident at 8.48 pm on FOB-3," the minister said.

"Consequently, passengers fell on each other," he said.