Arvind Kumar, the driver of the Diesel Multiple Unit train which was involved in the horrifying accident in Amritsar on Dussehra eve, wrote an emotional letter explaining that he applied breaks and honked in an attempt to stop the train, but then sped off after people started throwing stones.
While the train mowed down 59 people to death and injured 57 others on Friday evening, Arvind Kumar in his letter wrote that as the train was about to stop, after he applied the emergency brakes, a mob started pelting stones on the train.
“I saw a crowd around the track…I immediately applied the emergency brakes while continuously blowing the horn. Still, some people came under it. The train was about to stop when people started pelting stones, which is why I started the train for passengers’ safety,” the DMU train’s driver Arvind Kumar said.
The driver claimed that he flouted no norms and adhered to the prescribed procedure during the entire journey.
The Punjab and Railway Police on Saturday, 20 October, had detained and questioned the driver.
Punjab Police officials said that the DMU driver had been detained at the Ludhiana railway station and was being questioned regarding the incident that took place on Friday night at the Jora Phatak near Dhobi Ghat within Amritsar city.
The Punjab government on Saturday ordered a magisterial probe into the train tragedy.
Also read: Amritsar train accident: Punjab CM annnounces Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia to kin of deceased
