Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday attributed the tragic Jalgaon train accident in Maharashtra to a “sheer rumour” spread by a tea-seller about a fire inside the Lucknow-Mumbai Pushpak Express.
The death toll in the Jalgaon train accident was revised to 12 after officials confirmed on Thursday that a head and a torso, initially thought to belong to different individuals, were from the same person.
A state government official said that earlier the figure had been arrived at 13 as a woman’s body and a head were found at the scene of the accident, but a man identified the body parts as that of his mother.
Speaking in Pune, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar attributed the tragedy to a baseless rumour spread by a tea-seller from the train’s pantry car.
"A tea-seller from the pantry shouted about a fire having broken out in a coach," said Pawar.
Two passengers from Shravasti in Uttar Pradesh heard the false alarm and conveyed it to others, resulting in widespread confusion and fear among passengers in the general coach and an adjoining coach.
Amid the commotion, some frightened passengers jumped off the train to escape what they believed was a fire. "As the train was speeding, a passenger pulled the alarm chain.
After the train halted, people started getting down and got run over by the Karnataka Express on the adjacent track," Pawar stated.
The Karnataka Express, en route from Bengaluru to Delhi, struck the passengers with such force that many bodies were mutilated.
"The impact was so powerful that several passengers lost their lives and the bodies got mutilated," Pawar added.
Authorities have confirmed that of the 13 deceased, 10 have been identified. Among the injured are the two passengers who inadvertently spread the rumour after hearing the tea-seller's false claim.
Following the incident, the district guardian minister and local officials rushed to the scene to oversee rescue and relief operations. Train services were restored in both directions after some time, Pawar confirmed.
Also read: Death toll rises to 13 in Jalgaon train mishap, 'brake fail' blamed
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