A year since the horrific train tragedy in Amritsar on the occasion of Dussehra, the family members of the victims perished and injured in the incident carried out a protest march to mark the first anniversary of the dreadful incident which had left 60 dead and scores of others injured.
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The protest saw participation from hundreds of demonstrators who demanded justice and raised slogans against Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in Punjab. Slogans were raised against Navjot Sishu and his wife Navjot Kaur too.
One of the protestors, Deepak Kumar told ANI that even after a year since the tragedy, justice remains elusive. He said, “We are going to sit on protest on the railway tracks. We had traversed several offices the entire year demanding justice but justice is still pending.”
Another protesting individual said, “Nobody is listening to our demands so we are going towards the railway station. That tragedy took away our brothers and sisters and so we are going where they lost their lives. We will leave no stone unturned to attract the attention of this government towards us. We will also spill the milk if it will be needed.”
Dussehra last year was marred by a tragic accident in Amritsar where dozens of people were mowed down while they were watching the Ravan Dahan. As people were glued to the Dussehra celebrations, a speeding Jalandhar-Amritsar DMU ran over hundreds of people standing on the railway tracks who had gathered to watch the Ravan Dahan near the Jora Phatak area in Amritsar.
Navjot Kaur, the wife of Congress politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, was the chief guest at the event, and it was alleged that she escaped from the scene just after the incident. Moreover, the organiser of the event was Saurabh Madaan Mitthu, son of local congress councillor Vijay Madaan who reportedly belongs to the Sidhu camp and the organisers of the events were heard boasting about people standing on the railway tracks to watch the celebrations.
Soon after the incident, Navjot Singh Sidhu came out in defence of his wife, pinning the entire blame of the tragedy on the railways. Many media persons and portals had also tried to blame the railways for the tragedy, but The railways had stated that it was not responsible. The railway authorities had clarified that trespassing on train tracks is not allowed and the driver could not have applied brakes within such a short distance.