Police gave permission, none sought from corporation.

Amritsar:

While watching the Dussehra celebration in Amritsar, DMU Train ran over 60 people. Punjab and railway police are detaining and questioning the driver. The driver said he got the green all-clear signal to move ahead and he had no idea about hundreds of people standing on the track.

The driver of the diesel multiple unit or Dmu Train is being questioned at Ludhiana railway station.

The police said the organisers of the Ravan effigy-burning event at Amritsar’s Jora Pathak near the railway tracks are untraceable.

Railway officials said they are speaking with linemen posted along the tracks near Jora Phatak, who allegedly did not inform the DMU driver about the presence of hundreds of people on the railway tracks.

As the effigies went up in flames with amid the deafening noise of bursting firecrackers, the people standing on the railway tracks did not realise that a speeding train was approaching.

At least 60 people, many of them watching the burning effigies or recording the event on their mobile phones, were run over by the fast-moving train. The train passed the area within seconds.

Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha visited the accident site on Friday night. He said the accident is being investigated.