The Punjab police faced a tough time on Sunday to steer clear the railway tracks from the protesters. A police commando and a photojournalist were injured when local protesters pelted stones and clashed with security personnel who removed them from a rail track where 59 Dussehra revellers were mowed down by a train on Friday, officials said, adding traffic was restored on the route.

About 500 protesters, mostly young men, had blocked the rail tracks at the accident site and were raising slogans against the State Government, administration and the railways, and demanding resignation of Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu.

The agitated protesters had warned that they would not let any train pass on the route unless their demands were met.

Among other things, they were demanding action against the authorities for allowing Dussehra celebrations near the rail tracks, tracing the missing persons and giving adequate compensation to the families of those killed in the tragic accident.

The situation had been more or less peaceful but turned tense after some of the protesters began throwing stones on police personnel.

Seeing the police coming under attack from the protesters, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP-City) Amrik Singh Pawar led the operations and managed to clear the tracks blocked for over 40 hours after the accident. The Rapid Action Force was also present in the area.

The rail services were resumed in the afternoon, informed a railway spokesperson, adding that the railways got the clearance from local authorities at 12:30 pm.

In a precautionary move, the police has cordoned off the Dhobi Ghat area and Jaura Fatak, besides making public announcements that no one should come out of homes near the railway tracks.

The blockade, since Saturday, had forced the railways to cancel 27 trains, divert many others to Tarn Taran and Beas while some were short-terminated at Jalandhar.

The first goods train started from Manawala for Amritsar at 2:16 pm, said the Northern Railways spokesperson Deepak Kumar, adding that this is being followed by Mail and Express trains.

On Friday, 59 people lost their lives and 60 others were injured when a train ran through a crowd that had gathered on a railway track to watch 'Ravana' effigies go up in flames on the occasion of Dussehra.

Even as several people are still searching for their missing kith and kin after the tragic incident, the political mudslinging continued unabated.

Cabinet Minister and local MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu and his wife Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu, who was the chief guest at the Dussehra function, were the centre of criticism of their political opponents.

 SAD core committee, which met on Sunday, demanded Sidhu's expulsion from the Cabinet, besides seeking arrest of his wife Dr Navjot Kaur and the organisers of the Dussehra function for "abetting" the Amritsar tragedy.

 Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy blamed the Congress-led Punjab Government for not doing enough to safeguard the area near the railway tracks.

 "The particular boundary where the accident took place belongs to Punjab State. It is the job of the State of Punjab to see that railway tracks are secured from all the sides. The Congress Government should be held responsible for this," he said.

 Swamy said that the Punjab Government should have provided a ground for the people to celebrate Dussehra without risking their lives by standing on railway tracks. He also said that  action should be taken against those who gave the permission to install a Ravana effigy near the accident spot.

 "Why not an open ground with proper fencing was built up to conduct such a big event? Why the organisers never informed the railways about the same? Action should be taken against those who permitted Dussehra celebration near the railway track," he asked.

Amidst all the Opposition, Sidhu refused to respond to the demand for his resignation. "Anything else, anything else, anything else…No comments," said Sidhu when media persons insisted on his reaction to his rivals' demand of his expulsion from the Cabinet.

Earlier, Sidhu's wife tried to dispel the criticism claiming that several announcements were made during the event urging the spectators to occupy vacant space on the ground.

 Dr Navjot Kaur, who was the chief guest at the fateful event, said: "There were vacant seats at Dhobi Ghat ground. Ravana was tied securely and there were no chances of it falling down and creating chaos. There was no stampede. Announcements were made four-five times asking people to come inside the ground."

 Jalandhar: Punjab Director-General of Police (DGP) Suresh Arora on Sunday announced that for fixing criminal responsibility for the Amritsar railway mishap, Additional Director-General of Police (Railways) Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota would conduct an inquiry.

 "There has been negligence on the part of someone and that liability has to be fixed for which this probe has been ordered," said Arora while interacting with media persons on the sidelines of the 59th Police Commemoration Day parade.

The State DGP said that this was a very tragic and unfortunate incident into which Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has already ordered a magisterial probe by Jalandhar Divisional Commissioner B Purusartha, who would submit the report within four weeks.

Sahota would also personally conduct inquiry to ensure that the persons responsible for this mishap could be nailed, he said.