03:28
Indian officials say there's no need for an investigation into a train accident that killed dozens. But frustration is growing as victims' families demand answers - and those responsible be brought to justice. Our correspondent Shweta Bajaj has more.
16-year-old Sudesh was watching the festivities as the firecrackers went off in Amritsar, India. As he stepped back to get away from the firecrackers, he hit the passing train, breaking his leg in multiple places. He is waiting for his surgery to be able to walk again. He lives in the same area and watches trains go by every day. He says he never saw one go by at this speed.
SUDESH VICTIM "Train slows down every day. I see it every day. But that day, he gave the signal to go full speed ahead, knowing there were thousands of people celebrating here."
Sudesh is not alone. The same story is repeated by many people who live around the same train tracks. 38-year-old Deepak Mehra was born and raised in the area and has spent many evenings watching the train go by – the same one that left him with multiple broken bones.
DEEPAK MEHRA VICTIM "I watch it every day. I don't know what was different that day that the train came and killed so many people. I am sure so many people would not have died otherwise."
Another injured person succumbed to his injuries on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 62. Nitin Mehra was with 7 members of his family. 2 died. And the others -- including his daughter -- were injured. Navjot Singh Sindhu is the local legislator from the area. His wife was the chief guest at the festivities. The state government has put a 4-week deadline on the investigations. But without the Indian rail authority being involved, it's hard to see how the effort won't be anything but a formality.
NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU MINISTER OF LOCAL GOV'T, PUNJAB STATE "You drive the train over 200 people and don't even stop at the station ahead? And your speed was over 100 kilometers an hour. If you see the last video, you can see how fast the train was. Eyewitnesses say the train passed within a second. What kind of commission is this that gave the driver a clean chit within a day?"
The driver of the train said he did not stop because people were throwing stones at it. But people there say, they were in such a state of shock that throwing stones at the train wasn't something that even crossed their minds.
SHWETA BAJAJ AMRITSAR, PUNJAB STATE, INDIA "Railway officials say they will launch a massive campaign to educate people against trespassing. They also say the railway authority is not at fault. But the question remains: Is 24 hours enough to figure if Indian railway has any role to play in the accident that happens because of the train on the train track?"
The people who have lost their loved ones are looking for answers. But it's clear, the political blame game and railway's shrugging off responsibility means these people are unlikely to get closure any time soon. Shweta Bajaj, CGTN, Amritsar, India.