Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday held a video conference from Israel with senior State officials to review the situation following the train mishap in Amritsar, while the Shiromani Akali Dal and Bharatiya Janta Party alleged that inaction against the organisers of the Dussehra event indicated that the government was not keen on punishing the guilty.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and State BJP president Shwait Malik demanded a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court into the mishap.
“A non-consequential case under Section 304-A had been registered against unidentified persons with regard to the Dussehra tragedy. This itself proves that the Congress government has launched a cover up exercise to save the guilty,” the leaders said at a press conference.
SAD leader Jagir Kaur alleged that the announcement of magisterial inquiry into the train mishap by Capt. Amarinder Singh was an attempt to douse inflamed sentiments on the failure of the district administration and the organisers.
“Government should appoint a sitting high court judge to probe the incident and identify the guilty if the Congress government is keen that the truth come out and guilty be punished,” she said in a statement.
She added that Captain Singh’s visit to Israel reflects on his gross apathy, insensitivity and indifference to the woes of victims’ families.
The Chief Minister, during the video conference, asked officials to expedite the process of disbursement of the compensation for those killed in the tragedy. Besides, he asked the officials to complete the socio-economic profiling of the victims at the earliest so that their rehabilitation could be taken up on priority.
Meanwhile, a video message of the key organiser of the event, Saurabh Madan Mithu, who has gone into hiding, was released on the social media. In his message, he can be heard saying he was pained by the tragedy but was being unfairly targeted. He claimed that all the necessary permissions were taken for the event.
“Several announcements were also made by us asking people not to stand on the railway tracks,” said Mr. Madan.
