Days after 59 people were mowed down by the train he was driving, the driver of the DMU train on Sunday said that he did apply the emergency breaks and honked to disperse the crowd assembled on the track, but was unable to prevent the causalities.
Train driver Arvind Kumar, in a written statement, stated that as the train was about to stop, after he applied the emergency brakes, a mob started pelting stones on the train. “Keeping in mind the security of the passengers on board the train, I did not stop the train and stopped only after reaching the Amritsar station,” he said.
He added that he immediately passed the information to the relevant officers.
On Friday, around 59 Dussehra revellers were mowed down by a train as they had gathered on the tracks to witness the burning of Ravana's effigy in Amritsar.
Kumar, in his statement, went on to narrate the sequence of the events which led to the accident. He claimed that he flouted no norms and adhered to the prescribed procedure during the entire journey.
“The moment the train reached Km No. - 503/11, train number 13006 DN crossed it. Suddenly, I saw a huge crowd of people on the tracks. I honked and immediately applied the emergency brakes. Despite applying the emergency brakes, several number of people were mowed down by the train,” he wrote.