The Railway Protection Force (RPF) report on the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday night has revealed discrepancies that point to lapses of the railways, multiple news reports claimed Tuesday.

Conflicting announcements regarding the platform departure of a Prayagraj-bound Kumbh Special train allegedly triggered the stampede, which has now claimed 20 lives.

The railway authorities had insisted that there was no platform change, but the RPF’s inquiry confirms that the railway authorities made two contradictory announcements in three minutes.

Now the report contradicts the northern railways CPRO’s explanation that a passenger “slipped on the stairs” leading to the tragedy.

RPF shared a statement detailing the sequence of events that led to the stampede.

The report states: "At around 20:45 hrs, an announcement was made that the Kumbh Special train bound for Prayagraj would depart from platform 12. However, shortly thereafter, another announcement stated that the train would instead depart from platform 16. This contradictory information led to panic among passengers."

This statement contradicts the railway administration's claims that no platform change had taken place.

The inquiry further states, "Upon hearing the conflicting announcements, passengers from platforms 12-13 and 14-15 rushed towards FOBs (foot overbridge) 2 and 3. As they attempted to climb the stairs, passengers from trains 20802, 12445, and 12418 were simultaneously descending, leading to severe overcrowding. Amidst the chaos, some passengers slipped on the stairs and fell, getting trampled by others."

The initial inquiry has found that the CCTV camera covering the FOB and staircase where the stampede occurred was non-functional, leaving no footage of the critical moments leading to the chaos.

"Initial enquiry into the stampede has revealed that the CCTV camera focusing the bridge and staircase where the stampede happened was defunct, due to which no footage of the mishap is available," said a senior police officer aware of the matter, according to the Hindustan Times.

The RPF, which has a designated force of 270 personnel for crowd control at the station, had deployed only 80 officers, with the rest sent to Prayagraj for Kumbh Mela duties, according to the report.

Earlier, statements from eyewitnesses and passengers present at the scene highlighted the absence of RPF personnel during the stampede.

The Telegraph Online had earlier reported that the railways sold 1,500 general tickets every hour, because of which the station got overcrowded and became uncontrollable.

The RPF report also states that "ASC/NDLS arrived at FOB 2, assessed the situation, and instructed the station director to halt further ticket sales while warning of a possible surge in the crowd."

The Union ministry of railways has also displayed inconsistencies in its communication regarding the tragedy. While reports of a stampede surfaced as early as 9:00 pm Saturday, initial statements from northern railways and the Delhi Police referred to the incident as an “unprecedented rush” and dismissed stampede claims as “rumours.”

It was after Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences at 12:56 am that Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw acknowledged the stampede and confirmed fatalities at 1:09 am, over four hours after the incident occurred.