High-powered committee to probe New Delhi railway station stampede

Railways on Monday constituted a high-powered committee of senior railway officials to probe into the stampede incident at New Delhi station after scrapping two earlier panels set up to look into the mishap.

The three-member committee will comprise Additional Member (Commercial) Brij Mohan, Addtional Member (Civil Engineering), S K Malik and additional Director General Northern Railway P K Mehta.

Two persons were killed and eight injured in the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station  on Sunday.

The committee has been asked to submit its report into the stampede as soon as possible, a senior railway ministry official said.The high-powered committee has been set up in place of the four-member committee following the instruction of Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee taking into account the gravity of the situation, the official said.

Banerjee had on Sunday constituted a three-member panel to probe into the stampede only to disband it within hours and replace it with an upgraded committee consisting of senior officials.

The incident apparently took place due to a last minute interchange of platform for two Bihar-bound trains, but railways maintained that heavy rush at the foot over bridge and tripping of passengers led to the mishap.The probe team has launched its investigation, the official said