Dalbir Singh — a man who portrayed the role of Ravana at Ramlila event, is one among the people who were killed after a train mowed down people watching the burning of the effigy on Friday in Amritsar.
Dalbir Singh was a regular participant in Ramlila, but this was the first time he had played the role of the demon king. His mother Swaran Kaur told News 18, “My son was playing Ravana’s role for the first time. He always used to act in Ramlila and had earlier played Hanuman, Ram Chandra and Laxman’s role. For yesterday’s function, Dalbir invited everyone.”
According to media reports, Dalbir Singh was walking towards Joda Phatak to get a better view of the burning of the effigy. He saw a train at a breakneck speed approaching towards the area, where hundreds of people had gathered to watch the Dussehra festivities.
He reportedly ran to raise an alarm, but before he could reach he was crushed under the train. Several people who were watching Dussehra festivities, died in the train accident last night.
Demanding justice for the deceased Dalbir, her distraught mother said the government must give his widowed wife a job. “I urge the government to provide a job to my daughter-in-law. She also has an 8-month old baby… At the time of elections, parties come to us to seek help. We also always helped them and accompanied them door to door. Now, I want justice for my son,” she said.
“For more than 20 years, people from adjoining villages gather at the vacant plot at Joda Phatak, barely 50 meters from the railway tracks, to watch the celebrations,” said Sawan Kaur, the mother of Dalbir Singh.
Locals who were present there to watch the Dussehra event claimed that people did not hear the whistle of the train as the noise of bursting crackers drowned it.
At least 61 people, including women and children, were killed when a local train ran over a crowd watching a Ravana effigy burn during Dussehra celebrations in Amritsar.
Most people who were mowed down by a speeding train were migrant workers belonging to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Out of 61 dead bodies, 39 bodies have been identified by the authorities. A senior official in the district administration said most migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar work in an industrial area at a stone’s throw away from the accident site and live nearby.
Also read: Amritsar train accident: Driver had no clue about Dussehra celebration near tracks