Abandoned footwear, scattered bags, and leftover food lay across the narrow staircase connecting platforms 14 and 16 at New Delhi Railway Station. The area still echoed with the cries of pilgrims hours after the incident - some on their way to the Mahakumbh, others returning - shaken by the chaos that claimed 18 lives and left 15 critically injured.
According to Delhi Police, confusion over the name of their train, ‘Prayagraj,’ triggered the stampede. The Prayagraj Special was arriving from Prayagraj at Platform 16, while the Prayagraj Express was already at Platform 14.
When the names of the trains were announced over the speakers, the crowds rushed towards them before confusion over which train to board set in.
Rohit, a resident of Rohtak, was travelling to the Kumbh with his mother and sister when the chaos erupted.
"As our train was announced, people suddenly started running towards another platform, creating chaos. In the chaos, my mother's hand slipped from mine, and she fell onto the tracks, fracturing her arm," he recounted to PTI.
Despite calling for an ambulance immediately, he said help took almost an hour to arrive.
The overwhelming crowd left many stranded and helpless.
"There were far more people than I have ever seen at this station. In front of me, six or seven women were taken away on stretchers," recalled Dharmendra Singh, another passenger travelling to Prayagraj.
Porter Krishna Kumar Jogi, who witnessed the tragedy, described the horrifying scene.
"I witnessed the entire incident. We carried dead bodies from platform numbers 14 and 15 to the ambulance," he said. The crowd had swelled beyond control, and many suffocated to death, he added.
Anirudh, a daily wage labourer from Prayagraj living in Noida, had tried to book a reserved ticket home but had to settle for a general ticket due to the Mahakumbh rush. A frequent traveller to Prayagraj, he described the situation as uncontrollable.
"No one was walking; people were just pushing each other to move ahead. I saw women falling to the ground and others trampling over them. People didn't even realise they were walking over human beings who were alive," he told PTI.
Radha, another passenger, reached the railway station around 7 pm but could not enter.
"After some time, people started screaming in panic. I was near the gate, so I rushed out. Later, I found out that a stampede had broken out," she said.
Among those killed in the stampede was Pinky Devi, a mother of two children aged 13 and 10. She had set out on a pilgrimage to Prayagraj with her family. As the chaos unfolded, many were trapped, with no one coming to their rescue.
"This has happened due to the negligence at the railway station. The railway authority should have informed the passengers about train cancellations or rescheduling around three to four hours before so that there would not be a huge crowd at the station," said her relative, Pintu Sharma.
One of the victims told reporters that his mother had died in the stampede.
"We were travelling to our home in Chhapra, Bihar, in a group, but my mother died in the chaos. People were pushing each other," he said.
Another grieving family member of a deceased woman collapsed in sorrow.
A speck of blue stood out among the abandoned belongings. An anxious father broke down upon recognising the blue backpack - the only evidence of his missing son.
"He was just 12. He was supposed to board the train with me," he sobbed.
Gupteshwar Yadav recalled holding his wife's hand as they struggled towards Platform 14.
"The first thing we saw was a sea of heads, endless people trying to move towards platform 14. As we got closer, we got pushed from behind. In the commotion, I lost my wife's hand. And since then, I have been searching for her," he said.
While many mourned the loss of their loved ones, they also faced blame. Some were quick to fault the victims, as seen in callous remarks made by individuals claiming to align with the ruling dispensation's ideology.
Some posted that India, as the world's most populous nation, should learn basic crowd management rules and that people should pay closer attention to public announcements.
The tragedy at New Delhi Railway Station was more than just a failure of crowd control - it was a moment of helplessness, where faith collided with chaos, and lives were lost in the rush to reach the sacred.
Families were torn apart in seconds, their pilgrimage turning into a nightmare they never imagined.
For those who survived, the scars remain - not just on their bodies, but in the memories of hands slipping away, cries for help lost in the stampede, and loved ones who never made it home.
As the dust settles and the station returns to normal, the grief lingers. The abandoned belongings, the unanswered prayers, and the faces of those searching for someone who will never return - these will remain as silent reminders of a tragedy that should never have happened.
(With inputs from PTI and Express News Service)
