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Amritsar accident: Protesters removed from track, trains resume after 40 hrs

Over 40 hours after the accident in Amritsar in which 59 Dussehra revellers were mowed down by a train, protesters were cleared off the tracks and services resumed on Sunday afternoon, a railway spokesperson said.

IMAGE: Protests demanding action against the train driver have been on since Saturday. Photograph: Kamal Kishore/PTI Photo

The railways got the clearance from local authorities at 12:30 pm, the spokesperson said.

“First goods train started from Manawala to Amritsar at 1416 hours,” said Northern Railways spokesperson Deepak Kumar. This train will be followed by mail/express trains, he said.

Senior Divisional Security Commissioner (Railways), Firozpur Division, S Sudharkar said, “Train services have resumed on the affected rail track (Joda Phatak). A goods train was allowed to run on this track.”

IMAGE: Relatives of victims of train accident raise anti-government slogans at a railway crossing near the accident site in Amritsar. Photograph: Kamal Kishore/PTI Photo

Earlier in the day, the Punjab Police cleared the track off the protesters who were staging a sit-in.

When they were removed, the agitated protesters resorted to stone-pelting and clashed with security personnel, officials said.

A Punjab police commando and a photojournalist were injured during the clash, they said.

IMAGE: Relatives of victims of train accident raise anti-government slogans at a railway crossing near the accident site. Photograph: Kamal Kishore/PTI Photo

The protesters were raising slogans against the state government and demanding resignation of Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu.

The Punjab police has deployed its personnel, including commandoes, to manage the crowd. The Rapid Action Force is also present in the Joda Patak area, officials said.

The district administration has said that out of 59 people who were mowed down by the speeding Jalandhar-Amritsar train Friday, 40 have been identified. 

Source: Rediff