Amritsar train accident: SAD rejects magisterial probe, seeks judicial probe

The opposition Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab Sunday demanded immediate sacking of Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and a judicial probe into the circumstances that led to the train accident near a Dussehra event in Amritsar in which at least 59 people died.

During a core committee meeting of the party, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal also sought registration of murder cases against Sidhu's wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu, the chief guest at the event, and organisers of the function, holding them responsible for the accident.

The core committee, which met in Chandigarh under the chairmanship of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, rejected the magisterial inquiry ordered by the Congress government in the state and demanded a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana high court, according to a party release.

The party accused the organisers of "criminal negligence".

It said the Congress government has instituted a "tailor made inquiry" and was trying to put the blame "squarely on the Railways".

"This was being done despite the fact that the victim families were ready to present irrefutable evidence against a Congress councillor as well as Navjot Kaur Sidhu for abetting the tragedy," the party said.

"Keeping all these facts into account there was no possibility of a free and fair inquiry by a magistrate who was reporting to cabinet minister Navjot Sidhu and his family," the party release stated.

The committee also passed a resolution seeking Rs 1-crore compensation and a government job to one member of each family of the victims.