A rumour of “aag lag gayi, aag lag gayi (There’s a fire, there’s a fire),” triggered the outbreak of mass panic among train passengers and everyone started running, jumping off the train, said a witness to the train tragedy in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra that claimed 12 lives.

The passengers had stepped out of their coaches due to a suspected fire on the Pushpak Express. While they were on the tracks, the Karnataka Express arrived on the adjacent track and hit them. The accident took place between Maheji and Pardhade stations near Pachora, more than 400 km from Mumbai

Some passengers saw sparks flying from the wheels of the train when brakes were applied. Soon, a rumour spread that there’s been a fire.  Panic gripped passengers and they started jumping off the train on the tracks,” witness Vishal Yadav, who was bleeding from the knee, told NDTV.

Those who jumped on the tracks were run over by a fast train, said officials.

“We also started getting down. Suddenly there was a train coming in from the opposite direction and that caused a stampede-like situation. I tried to get away and was injured in the process,” Mr Yadav said.

A senior Railway official told news agency PTI that the preliminary information suggests sparks and smoke inside one of the general coaches of Pushpak Express due to either “hot axle” or “brake-binding (jamming)”.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to families who have lost a loved one in the tragedy.

“Our minister Girish Mahajan is personally overseeing the rescue and support to the victims of the accident. I have spoken to district administration and police officials there (in Jalgaon),” the Chief Minister said.
 

A violent clash broke out between two groups over honking in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district on New Year’s Eve, with several vehicles and shops being torched in the area. According to officials, there was a heated exchange between two groups of locals in Paladhi village. The clashes erupted when the driver of a car allegedly honked and asked the other group to give way.

Visuals of the incident show several cars and shops engulfed in fire.

Seven people have been arrested and a curfew was imposed, which was lifted this morning.

Additional police personnel, State Reserve Police Force, and Riot Control Police teams alongside fire brigade vehicles were deployed to bring the situation under control.

Records of 15 shops and vehicles that were allegedly destroyed during the clash have been collected, an official said. A shopkeeper claimed he suffered losses of around Rs 3 lakh.

“I have been running this shop for the past two years,” he said.

Reports suggested that the man driving the car was State Minister Gulabrao Patil’s driver.

NCP-SCP leader Jitendra Awhad held the minister “responsible” for the chaos, alleging a political background to the violence.

Shiv Sena MLC and party spokesperson Manisha Kayande demanded a thorough investigation into the incident. “A thorough investigation should be done to ascertain facts and find out if there was any mischief to harm the life of state Minister Gulab Rao Patil and his family. I am sure Maharashtra Police will do its job,” he said.

Congress MLA Nitin Raut has blamed the state government for the incident.

“The government is not paying attention to it and it is involved in making people fight in the name of religion and caste. They want people to be busy with such issues so that they won’t demand development from the government… This is the failure of the government,” Mr Raut said.