Govt's Big Reveal In Rajya Sabha: 'Falling Of Big Headload Led To New Delhi Railway Station Stampede'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Rajya Sabha on Friday that the falling of a big headload led to the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station in which 18 people were killed and 15 were injured.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Vaishnaw said a big headload falling from one of the passengers triggered the New Delhi railway station stampede.

The stampede took place on the foot over bridge (FOB) and stairs connecting Platform 14/15 at New Delhi Railway Station on February 15, 2025.

The minister said, "A High-Level Inquiry Committee was constituted to examine the circumstances leading to this unfortunate incident. The Committee has since submitted its report for consideration."

"On the day of the incident, sufficient crowd management protocols were in place to handle the overall volume of passengers at the station," Vaishnaw said.

He added that there was a gradual increase in passenger density on the foot over the bridge after 8.15 pm on February 15.

"Many of the passengers were carrying big headloads affecting smooth movement on the FOB," he said.

The railway minister further informed that there was a big

headload falling from one of the passengers and the pressure was passed on to the stairs of platform 14/15

stairs, "resulting in the tripping of passengers on the stairs."

This led to an incident at 8.48 pm on FOB-3. The minister informed the House that in the incident, 18 people lost their lives and 15 others were injured.

Vaishnaw's statement in the Rajya Sabha came in response to Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman's query. Suman had asked the minister to inform about the status of the report of the committee constituted to investigate the stampede and the corrective steps taken by the government.

According to Vaishnaw, an ex-gratia amount of ₹10 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased, an amount of ₹2.5 lakh each to the grievously injured and ₹1 lakh each to other injured has been paid.

"Accordingly, a total amount of ₹2.01 crore has been paid to 33 victims and their family members," Vaishnaw said.

The railway minister said the government has taken several action to handle the heavy rush of passengers at stations, including the creation of permanent holding areas and access control measures -- allowing passengers with confirmed tickets -- at 73 identified stations, widening foot overbridges, installing CCTV cameras, developing war rooms at big stations, among others.

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