Locals had started protesting on Saturday, raising slogans against the state government and demanding action against the train’s driver, a day after the accident in Amritsar. Police said locals are sitting on railway tracks and do not want to leave.
Agencies
Amritsar, October 21:
The situation remained tense on Sunday as locals continued with their sit-in at Joda Patak where 61 Dussehra revellers were mowed down by a train. Locals had started protesting on Saturday, raising slogans against the state government and demanding action against the train’s driver, a day after the accident in Amritsar.
Police said locals are sitting on railway tracks and do not want to leave.
“We hope that normalcy will be restored in the area by Sunday evening as the number of protestors have come down since Saturday,” a senior police officer said. Punjab Police have deployed its personnel, including commandoes, to manage the crowd. The Rapid Action Force is also present in the Joda Patak area.
The district administration has said that out of 61 people who were mowed down by the speeding Jalandhar-Amritsar train on Friday, 40 have been identified. The process of identifying the other persons is underway, it said.
Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, who visited the accident site on Saturday, has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.
