AN ACCIDENT
New Delhi Railway station was a scene of horror on June 12, 1989. The reservation hall outside platform No. 1 was full of passengers in the morning hour. As usual there were queues on the Reservation windows. At 10.25 hours a loud sound was heard by all. It was the sound of bomb blast near the Shatabdi Express Counter. For a few minutes people could not guess what had happened.
The first caution and report came from a man who was standing on the first floor. He saw the body of a man flying up and hitting the ceiling which is 25 ft. high. It left a blotch of blood on the ceiling before it crashed down on the floor. There was blood all around in the hall. The bomb was so powerful that it left an 8 inch deep crater in the concrete floor. It shattered glass 50 feet away.
There was near stampede after that. People wanted to get away in a hurry. They trampled over the dead and the injured. Some of them abandoned their luggage. A lady left even her child behind. Some even slipped on the blood that had splashed the floor.
The situation was then controlled by a few good taxi drivers who ran to the place of accident. It was a rare sight to see. They collected the dead bodies and injured. Without caring for the police or officials they took them to different hospitals. They also requested the people to be calm. When the situation calmed down it was known that seven had died and 50 were injured. Some of them seriously injured.
The police arrived immediately after that. Enquiries revealed that a homemade bomb was hid in bedding. The police found a quartz timer, a battery and a lot of nuts and bolts. The Additional Commissioner of Police said that it was a very strong device with a killing range of 50 feet. It is rather fortunate that the hall was not packed. Northern Railway General Manager Mr. J. Rajagopalachary reached the place followed by the Railway Minister who said, “It is an unparalleled human tragedy.”