Amritsar train driver detained by police, says he got 'all-clear' to move on

The driver of the Amritsar diesel multiple unit (DMU) train that ploughed through Dussehra revellers watching the effigy of Ravana burn has been detained by the Punjab and railway police from Amritsar railway station.

The driver told the police that he got the green signal to move ahead and that he had no idea that there were hundreds of people standing on the tracks. However, the organisers of the Dussehra event could not be traced.

The Railways officials were also questioning the lineman who gave the train green signal and reportedly didn’t inform the driver about the presence of a crow on the tracks.

Also Read | Amritsar Train Tragedy: 61 dead, Railways says ‘clear case of trespassing’

As many as 59 people were killed while watching the effigy of demon king Ravana burn after the DMU train ran over them. The eyewitnesses said that the speeding train came suddenly and before they could release it ran them over, leaving bodies and bloody tracks.

Railways Minister Piyush Goyal, who is on a foreign tour said that he will return immediately while his junior Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha visited the site on Friday night.

Railway officials said that they were not informed about the event and termed the accident a “clear case of trespassing”.