Heavy police presence on bridge, even as commuters continue to use mishap staircase; cops take statements of 40 witnesses, gather video footage
It was back to work for commuters at Elphinstone Road station, a day after a stampede there killed 23 people. There was, however, heavy police bandobast on the station premises and outside. As a provisional measure, there were also police officers in plainclothes deployed at the station. When mid-day visited the spot around 9.30 am on Saturday, the usually bustling station inside and outside was devoid of hawkers. People had lit candles and lain bunches of flowers on the bridge and staircase. As the trains spilled commuters out at the station, people could be seen taking the same bridge. "We were requesting commuters to use the other FOB that is just opposite, but they continued to use this one as they would have to walk an extra 50 metres to get to the other one," said a constable.
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A commuter's photo of the stampede at Elphinstone Road station on Friday. Pic/Twitter
Meanwhile, the Dadar police, which is investigating the incident, said it had recorded statements of 40 witnesses. It has also collected video clips from as many people as possible. "All statements are the same, there are no contradictions. They have said as it was raining heavily, people stood on the staircase for the rain to stop. This led to a huge pile-up on the bridge as with every train, the crowd increased. The pressure of the crowd caused some to lose balance on the staircase, triggering the incident," said an officer.
The police is awaiting a report from the railways, which is a vital part of the entire probe. The cops are also investigating if there was any theft following the incident. They said no one had approached them complaining of missing possessions.
23 Number of people killed
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