Mobiles, Wallets of Dead and Injured Were Robbed After Amritsar Train Accident

Amritsar: As scores of Dussehra revellers watching the burning of Ravana effigy were mowed down by a passing train, there were some people present in the crowd who instead of helping out the victims, made away with their cash and valuables.

Relatives of those killed said when they received the bodies back, ornaments, mobiles and wallets on their person were missing, Hindustan Times reported.

Jyoti Kumari, who lost her 17-year-old son Vasu to the accident, said when she found his body at the civic hospital, his mobile phone worth Rs 20,000, gold chain and wallet were all gone.

Another kin of the victim, Kamal Kumar, said his son 19-year-old son Tarun Makhan had gone to watch the Dussehra celebrations with his friends, who bought the youth’s body back on a cart. But his mobile phone is still missing, he told the paper.

Even the injured were not spared by the rogue elements in the crowd.

Deepak, who suffered injuries in the leg, said he lost his daughter in the accident and his son is critical. But even as he was unable to move and shouting for help, someone came and picked up his mobile phone.

The disturbing video footage of the accident had also showed many people across the railway tracks filming on their mobile phones and taking selfies even after the tragedy struck.

Many, including political leaders, took to Twitter to express dismay over the selfie culture during such tragic incidents.

"What a mindless & entirely avoidable tragedy! Watching this video you'd be hard pressed to imagine the scale of the tragedy considering the way people are nonchalantly filming away on their phones even after the train has run over people!," former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Preeti Sharma Menon tweeted, it was so unbelievable that the train ran over the crowd "and they continued filming".

Video footage of the accident on television channels showed several mobile phones flashing from across the tracks when the horrific accident occurred.

During several other tragedies in the past, people were seen taking selfies, which has been criticised by many as apathy and disrespectful towards the victims.