Stampede at Army recruitment rally kills 2

KHASA: For Ranjodh Singh, a young lad from a border village in Punjab, getting into the Indian Army would have been a dream come true. On Sunday night, he reached Khasa cantonment and camped patiently outside an Army recruitment rally venue all night to ensure he didn't miss this chance. Sadly, for him, that was not to be.
The rally turned fatal for two young men, including Ranjodh, when they were killed in a stampede that resulted after the venue doors were opened to as many as 10,000 job aspirants.
The other victim has been identified as Harjinder Singh. The rally venue bore the marks of the turbulence, with shoes and clothes strewn all over the grounds. As many as six other candidates were reportedly injured in the incident.
However, the blame game started soon after that. Claiming the tragedy didn't occur in the Army area, director, recruitment, Col K K Kiran said the lads were so eager to get in that as soon as the gates were opened around 5am, they forced their way inside. "They even pushed the policemen and broke the barbed wire. In the melee, two young boys stumbled and fell in a ditch after they were caught in the stampede.'' He added Army men assisted the cops in taking the injured to the hospital, where both of them succumbed to injuries. Refusing to shoulder responsibility, he said the civil administration should have maintained order at the place.
Terming it as unfortunate, Amritsar deputy commission K S Pannu ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. He also recommended a compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased.
Blaming the huge turnout for the stampede, DSP Kirpal Singh said they were taken by surprise when as many as 10,000 job aspirants turned up at Khasa.
Pannu also called for overhauling the recruitment process, adding he had taken up the issue with the Army authorities, who had assured that the venue would be shifted from Khasa next April. The DC added he would ask the state government to probe into the inadequate arrangements made by recruiters and also take up the matter with the Union defence ministry to avoid any recurrence of the tragedy.
However, for Dharam Singh, who lost his nephew Ranjodh, it's the lack of arrangements that led to the near riot.
Shamsher Singh, one of the job aspirants, alleged the Army gave the same date and time to candidates from Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts, leading to a sea of anxious youngsters turning up together. "I got a token at 4am. But when the gates were opened, everybody just rushed in,'' he recounted.