Delhi Railway Station stampede: Ex-Gratia distributed in cash, autopsies conducted overnight
New Delhi: The Indian Railways conducted autopsies of the victims of Saturday’s stampede at three city hospitals overnight and disbursed ex-gratia relief in cash to the bereaved families and injured passengers. According to officials, ₹10 lakh was handed over in cash to the kin of each deceased at the mortuaries, while three seriously injured victims received ₹2.5 lakh each and 12 others were given ₹1 lakh each.
“All the compensation was given in cash to the near relatives of the victims by Northern Railways. The distribution took place from morning till 8 PM,” said Dilip Kumar, Executive Director (Information & Publicity), Railway Board.
As per a Ministry of Railways press release from September 22, 2023, a maximum of ₹50,000 is to be paid in cash as immediate relief, with the remaining amount transferred through bank accounts. However, in this case, the entire compensation was disbursed in cash, an unusual move according to officials.
A retired legal officer, formerly part of a claims commission, noted that compensation is typically released after thorough verification, which usually takes months. “Although not illegal, immediate cash disbursal on such a scale is rare. The funds likely came from the railway department’s contingency budget and may face scrutiny during audits,” he said.
Families of the victims confirmed that a three-member team from the Railways met them at the mortuaries around 4:30 AM, completed identification formalities, and handed over the ex-gratia amount along with the bodies. Security personnel were deployed to escort them home, ensuring the safety of the large cash amounts.
Among the deceased was 19-year-old Baby Kumari from Bihar, who had recently cleared her Class 12 exams and had come to Delhi in search of a job. Her father, Prabhu Sah, received the compensation and was accompanied by an RPF official as he took his daughter's body back to Motihari, Bihar.
Similarly, Neeraj Kumar, a 12-year-old from Vaishali, Bihar, died in the stampede while on his way to the Maha Kumbh with his relatives. His uncle, Amarjeet Paswan, who was also injured, said he was given ₹10 lakh in cash after confirming his nephew’s identity with online documents.
The incident has raised questions over the Railway authorities’ decision to bypass standard protocols for compensation disbursal. However, officials defended the move as an attempt to provide immediate relief to grieving families.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
UP man gets life term for electrocuting mentally challenged wife to death in Bareilly
Bareilly (UP) (PTI): A local court here has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for murdering his mentally challenged wife by repeatedly electrocuting her while she was tied to a cot, lawyers said on Thursday.
Additional district government counsel Harendra Singh Rathore said Additional Sessions Judge Avinash Kumar Singh on Wednesday convicted Vinod Kumar (45) for killing his wife, Satyavati, in Chaina village of Bareilly district and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on him.
According to the prosecution, he was allegedly frustrated with his wife Satyavati's mental illness and often assaulted her.
Rathore said the prosecution examined nine witnesses to establish the charges against him.
As per court records, on the night of May 1-2, 2022, when Satyavati was asleep, Vinod tied her hands and legs to a cot using ropes and then connected an aluminium cable to an electric board to repeatedly administer electric shocks to her.
"She writhed in pain, but the accused continued to electrocute her until she died," the prosecution said.
The court observed that the murder was carried out in an inhuman manner.
After committing the crime, the accused threw the rope and cable on the roof and left for work at a brick kiln around 2 am to create a false alibi.
He later tried to mislead the police and the victim's family by claiming that Satyavati, whose mental condition was unstable, had accidentally died by suicide after grabbing a live electric wire.
However, the victim's brother, Sanjeev, a resident of Shahjahanpur district, suspected foul play and lodged an FIR under sections 498A (husband subjecting wife to cruelty) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code at Nawabganj police station.
During the trial, the prosecution relied on the post-mortem report prepared by Dr Faraz Anwar, who stated that multiple electrocution marks found on different parts of the victim's body could not have been self-inflicted.
The police also recovered the rope and electric wire used in the crime on the accused's identification, officials said.
