Amritsar train tragedy: Rail service resumes on affected track after Punjab Police removes sit-in protesters

Amritsar: 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. “The railways got the clearance from local authorities at 12.30 pm,” the spokesperson said. [caption id=“attachment_5412511” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] At least 59 people were killed in the Amritsar train accident. Image courtesy: Arjun Sharma/101Reporters[/caption] “First goods train started from Manawala to Amritsar at 02.16 pm,” 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 told PTI, “Train services have resumed on the affected rail track (Joda Phatak). A goods train was allowed to run on this track.” Earlier in Sunday, the Punjab Police cleared the track off the protesters who were staging a sit-in. “When they were removed, the protestors resorted to stone-pelting and clashed with security personnel,” officials said. According to the officials, a Punjab Police commando and a photojournalist were injured during the clash. 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 commandos, 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.