Dussehra this year was marred by a tragic accident in Amritsar where dozens of people were slaughtered in a calamity which appears to have been totally avoidable. As per reports, people were watching the Dussehra celebrations standing on the railway tracks when they were run over by a speeding train.
Now, a video has emerged which indicates that the organizers of the event, who are, as per reports, the family of a local Congress councillor, were completely aware of people standing on tracks and yet did nothing to caution them. Even more, they appeared to be encouraging them to stand there. Even more shockingly, Navjot Kaur Sidhu, wife of Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, appeared complicit in the negligence that led to the deaths of so many people.
TIMES NOW has accessed a video that says it all. Organisers knew about the safety lapse. Lives risked to please Mrs Sidhu. ‘Chamchagiri’ at the cost of your LIVES. More details by @RShivshankar #SidhuStepDown pic.twitter.com/JoG3Eu5Vch
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) October 20, 2018
“Madam, look here. These people don’t care about standing on tracks,” the event organizer can be heard saying in the video. “Even if 500 trains pass by, over 5000 people will be standing on the tracks for you,” he said, apparently addressing the wife of the Congress politician.
Soon after the incident, when media reports claimed that Navjot Kaur had fled from the scene after the incident, she had denied the reports and has stated that she has left 15 minutes prior and had even stated that the organisers and herself cannot be blamed because neither had they made the people sit on tracks nor had they made the train mow them down. Navjot Kaur had also indirectly blamed the railways saying that the train did now slow down.
The video completely demolishes Navjot Singh Sidhu’s argument that the whole incident was ‘Parmatma ka Prakop’ (wrath of the almighty). It is quite evident that the whole accident reflects the monumental failure of authorities at several levels and reflects criminal negligence. From the organizers of the event which was conducted without prior permission from concerned authorities to the chief guest who did not take any initiative to ensure the safety of attendees even though it appears that everyone was well aware of people standing on railway tracks.
