Autopsies conducted late into the night, kin given ex gratia in cash

The Indian railways got autopsies conducted on the bodies of Saturday's stampede victims at three city hospitals through the night, gave ex-gratia relief of ₹10 lakh in cash to the kin of each deceased at the mortuaries, arranged ambulances and dispatched the bodies along with their relatives accompanied by a security person to their respective hometowns within hours, railway and police officials said on Sunday.

- HTC and Agencies

NEW DELHI: A day after a stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station led to the deaths of at least 18 people, several opposition parties on Sunday demanded that railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw resign in light of the incident, and called for a probe against those responsible for the mismanagement at the station.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, hit back, accusing the opposition of politicising a tragedy.

Hours after the stampede, senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia alleged that after the BJP was voted to power in Delhi, the real "aapda" (disaster) government has come - using a phrase that the BJP had used to target the AAP in the run-up to the polls in the Capital.

"This is not just an accident but a cruel result of administrative negligence. How long will the common people keep paying the price for this?" he posted on X.Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate demanded Vaishnaw's resignation.

"The railway minister must resign with immediate effect, or he must be removed. In view of yesterday's mismanagement, the minister has no moral right to remain in his post," she said at a press conference on Sunday.