Amritsar train tragedy: Magistrate court gives clean chit to Navjot Singh Sidhu, wife; says security not chief guest's responsibility

A magistrate court on Thursday gave a clean chit to Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and his wife in the tragic train accident in Amritsar, which killed around 60 people. According to reports, the court cleared Navjot Kaur Sidhu, who was the chief guest at the event, of responsibility and said that a chief guest could not be held accountable for the safety and security arrangements of an event. The minister too was given a clean chit by the court due to the fact that he was not in Amritsar when the incident occurred. CNN-News18 reported that a 300-page report of the probe into the incident has been submitted to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. On 19 October, around 60 people were mowed down by a train in Amritsar’s Joda Phatak as they watched a burning Ravana effigy on the occasion of Dussehra.

#NewsAlert – Magisterial probe gives a clean chit to @sherryontopp and his wife over Amritsar train tragedy. ‘No role of Sidhu in the train tragedy on Dussehra’. #AmritsarTrainTragedy | @Mmohit_Malhotra with more details pic.twitter.com/INRNKsgGgV

— News18 (@CNNnews18) December 6, 2018

However, the court’s report held the organiser, Saurabh Madan Mithoo, the local administration, gateman, and Punjab Police responsible for the accident. Reportedly, Mithoo is a close aide of the Sidhus. In the document, the court also said that Mithoo did not take the requisite permissions for the event from the local administration, according to reports. In a video message on 22 October, Mithoo had said that he had taken all the permissions and even alerted the crowd “at least ten times” to not stand on the tracks. Mithoo, a local councillor’s son,  had gone underground with other family members  after the incident, fearing retribution. According to police, a few people angry over the accident attacked their residence, broke window panes and pelted stones soon after the accident. With inputs from PTI