Union Home Ministry, Uttar Pradesh government and Railways were locked in a blame game today over the chaos at a ITBP recruitment camp and ensuing mishap, as four more job aspirants travelling atop trains succumbed to injuries taking the death toll to 19.
The Centre hit back at the Mayawati government for the violence and chaos that occurred during the recruitment camp saying “only a handful” of State policemen were present to maintain law and order.
The UP government claimed that ITBP and the Centre did not coordinate with the State on the recruitment camp. It also blamed alleged “mismanagement” of ITBP for the “chaos”.
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Contending that they had “no information about the recruitment drive by ITBP”, Northern Railway General Manager S K Budhalakoti said Railways came to know about it only when a large number of job aspirants started gathering at stations in Bareilly and other places.
“We have successfully handled the crowd even during the Kumbh Mela celebrations and we could have taken steps had we been informed in this case,” he said.
The death toll in the incident of ITBP aspirants falling down from the roof of two speeding trains rose to 19 today with four more succumbing to injuries, officials said in Lucknow.
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Three persons died in Shahjahanpur, while another died in Hardoi, District Magistrate of Shahjahanpur Ajay Chauhan said.
Fourteen youths travelling atop the Himgiri Express, were killed when they were hit by an over-bridge near Shahjahanpur yesterday while another ITBP job-seeker died when he fell from the Triveni Express in Hardoi district.
Over 1.5 lakh youths from 11 States, vying for ITBP jobs, had reached Bareilly to submit forms for recruitment in the force yesterday. Hundreds of them travelled on rooftops of trains while returning home.
The Union Home Ministry said that despite the clear request and advance intimation by the Commandant (ITBP), it is learnt that only a handful of police personnel were deployed around the ITBP campus. When candidates started converging at the ITBP camp for registration, initially the process went on smoothly, it said
“However, as the crowd swelled, the Additional Director General (Headquarters) at the Directorate General ITBP, who was monitoring the process, even talked to the District Magistrate and the ADG (Law and Order) UP requesting them to augment the arrangements,” the Ministry said in a statement in New Delhi.
The Ministry also produced four documents, submitted by the ITBP to it, of official communication between local ITBP officials and the State administration.
“The incident was unfortunate, but the ITBP did not inform the Bareilly administration that applications have been invited from 11 States,” a UP government spokesman had said in Lucknow, adding the ITBP should have given a special information in this regard.
Home Minister P Chidambaram had also said yesterday that the State police was obliged to provide security to any kind of recruitment camp and such a programme is not held without the knowledge of the State police.
“These were done with the full knowledge and consent of State police,” he had said in New Delhi.
The UP government had termed Chidambaram’s statement as “untrue” and “far from facts”.
The Home ministry today said that it has been alleged in media that the ITBP had not informed the District Magistrate, Bareilly about the recruitment rally for which over one lakh persons turned up for 416 vacancies and some returning candidates were killed and injured in a rail accident.
“In this regard, ITBP has informed that to ensure adequate arrangements for the rally, the local Commandant, ITBP wrote a letter to the District Magistrate with a copy to the DIG, Bareilly district on January 17 mentioning in detail the process of recruitment that would be followed along with the timings and estimated number of candidates, thereby requesting for adequate arrangements to be made.
“A similar letter was issued by the local Commandant, ITBP to the District Magistrate requesting for the services of one medical officer, one para-medic along with medicines and one ambulance to handle any medical emergencies during the rally,” the statement said.
Mr. Budhalakoti told reporters in New Delhi that electricity supply to the overhead wire was also stopped between Bareilly and Alamnagar-just before Lucknow - to prevent the travellers from coming in contact with the high tension wires above.
But beyond that the Railways could do little as the crowd simply kept swelling packed trains, he said.