50 -year -old Poonam Devi, who lost her life by getting stuck in a horrific crowd at New Delhi railway station, came here to meet her daughter, but she did not know that it would be her last meeting.
Asha Singh, a relative of the deceased, said that he (Poonam) and her husband Meghnath Kushwaha had gone to the Mahakumbh Mela before coming to Delhi to meet their daughter and son -in -law from Bihar.
Singh said, “She was returning to her village Gangajal on Saturday, but unfortunately she fell victim to the incident.” He told that the couple used to go on very little journey and after many years they decided to go to Mahakumbh.
Prabhu Shah, a mournful father of another stampede victim, told about the heart -wrenching death of his 24 -year -old daughter, who got the first job in Delhi six months ago.
Shah said in a sad voice, ‘My daughter came to Delhi after getting her first job in Bijwasan six months ago. On Saturday, she was going to Kumbh Mela with her aunt and her cousin. She said that she was the youngest of her five daughters and had big dreams about her future.
A daily wage laborer named Manoj was the only earner of his family. He also died in the stampede and now the wife and two children remained helpless.
Manoj’s relative Jai Prakash Kushwaha remembered the sad moment when he received a call from the hospital. He said, ‘We were told that Manoj has been injured in the stampede. When I reached the hospital, I found that he was lifeless. He had died. He told that Manoj was going to Prayagraj alone and later he had a plan to go to Bihar to meet his family.
On Saturday night, at least 18 people were killed and more than a dozen people were injured in a stampede at the packed railway station. Railway officials said the incident occurred when some passengers slipped on others while getting down from the footover bridge. The Mahakumbh held in Prayagraj will run till 26 February.