New Delhi stampede: Two out of five transferred Railway officials get posting in NR Headquarter

Two of the five railway officials shunted out after the tragic stampede that killed 18 passengers at the New Delhi Railway Station have been given fresh postings in the Northern Railway Headquarters.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Two of the five railway officials shunted out after the tragic stampede that killed 18 passengers at the New Delhi Railway Station have been given fresh postings in the Northern Railway Headquarters.

The officials said these positions are considered “punishment postings” as they do not have any significant authority over rail operations.

The rail administration had following the incident shunted out five officials on March 4 in four separate orders.

Mahesh Yadav, who was removed from the post of station director, has been reassigned as Deputy Chief Operation Manager (Dy COM) for Freight Operations Information System (FOIS) at the Norther Railway Headquarter in New Delhi.

According to a notice issued by the Northern Railway (NR) on March 12, the post of Senior Divisional Operation Manager for Goods ( Sr DOM G) of Delhi Division was transferred to NR Headquarter and redesignated as Dy COM (FOIS) NR.

Anand Mohan, the second official shunted out from the position of Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (Sr DCM) for passenger services (PS) in the Delhi Division, has been posted as Deputy Chief Operation Manager of Coaching (Dy COM Chg).

The other two officials — Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Sukhwinder Singh and Additional Divisional Railway Manager (ADRM) Vikram Singh Rana — are yet to get fresh postings.

The fifth official Mahesh Chand Saini, who was posted as Assistant Security Commissioner of Railway Protection Force at the New Delhi Railway Station, was sent to Kota soon after his transfer order.

High-level inquiry

Railway sources said that a high-level inquiry is underway to fix accountability of those whose negligence led to the tragedy.

“Officials guilty of negligence will not be let off with mere transfers. Strict actions follow once the report is submitted to the higher authorities,” a senior railway official said.

The stampede broke out in the evening of February 15 as a huge rush of passengers gathered at the railway station to catch their train to Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela. The officials then said that 18 people were killed in the stampede and many others were injured.