Amritsar Train Tragedy: A good ‘Ravana’ who lost his life trying to save people on tracks

Dalbir Singh, the man who played the character of demon king Ravana at the Ramleela in Amritsar, was among the 59 people who died in the tragic train accident on the auspicious evening of Dussehra that turned into woebegone.

Singh had just finished his role as Ravana and was walking on tracks towards the Joda Phatak to get a better view of burning effigy when he saw the speeding train approaching him and over a hundred others. Before he could warn people, the train crushed him along with 59 others.

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Saddened by the death of her son, Dalbir Singh’s mother Sawan Kaur could not speak more but appeal the government to secure the future of her daughter-in-law and an eight-month-old grandchild.

"I appeal to the govt to provide a job to my daughter-in-law. She also has an eight-month-old baby," ANI quoted Sawan Kaur as saying.

She said her son had been playing different roles in Ramleela for over a decade. This time he played the role of Ravana.

"For more than 20 years, people from adjoining villages gather at the vacant plot at Joda Phatak, barely 50 metres from railway tracks, to watch the celebrations,” the grieved mother said while tears rolled down the cheeks of Singh’s widow who sat next to her mother-in-law in numbness.

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Meanwhile, people of the area staged a sit-in and raised slogans against the state government. They were demanding action against the train driver, alleging that he didn’t slow down the train despite the presence of huge crowd on tracks.