Aaditya Thackeray Slams Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Over Bandra Stampede: 'Incapable'

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray criticised Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday after a stampede at Mumbai's Bandra railway station left nine people injured.

"Wish the reel minister was a rail minister for once. The incident at Bandra only reflects how incapable the current Railways Minister is. The BJP has made Ashwini Vaishnav ji a prabhari for BJP Maharashtra for elections, but every week there are some incidents and accidents that occur with the railways. Such a shame that our country has been forced under such incapable ministers," the former Maharashtra minister posted on X.

Photo Credit: PTI

Thackeray's comments came in response to a stampede that saw at least nine people injured as passengers rushed to board a Gorakhpur-bound train at Bandra railway station, as reported by PTI.

The Western Railway issued a statement: "On 27.10.2024 at about 02.45 hrs, passenger train number 22921 Antyodaya Express was slowly being placed on platform number 01 from the BDTS yard, when some passengers present on the platform tried to board the moving train and 02 passengers fell and got injured."

How did the stampede occur?

Ahead of Diwali and Chhath festivals, large numbers of people gathered at Bandra Terminus, intending to travel to their hometowns.

The incident happened as passengers rushed to board the 22921 Bandra-Gorakhpur Antyodaya Express on platform number one, a civic official informed PTI.

According to Western Railway, the incident took place at 2.45 am on platform number one of Bandra Terminus when the Antyodaya Express was "slowly moving" from the BDTS (Bandra Terminus) yard towards the platform.

"During this time, some passengers on the platform attempted to board the moving train, leading to an accident where two passengers fell and got injured," stated the WR's announcement around 10.30 am.

The statement added, "The on-duty RPF, GRP, and Home Guard officers promptly acted and admitted the injured passengers to the nearby Bhabha Government Hospital," and confirmed that the injured passengers are currently in stable condition.

(With PTI inputs)