AMRITSAR: Two persons were killed on Monday during stampede at an  army recruitment rally organised here  at Khasa Army Cantonement center.

The stapede occured while youth was jostling to reach in the front row. The district authorities have blamed the army authorities for mismanagment at the rally.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amritsar Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh said that incident occurred  in the morning when hundred of young boys thronged at the Khasa Army cantonment area where the recruitment process was scheduled for probables from Punjab.

It is believed that a word had spread around that recruitment would be made on first come first serve basis that triggered mad rush among the crowd.

Boys who were killed were identified as Ranjot Singh resident of village Kaler, district Tarn Taran and Harjinder Singh resident of village Buttar Kalan of Amritsar. The bodies were sent to Government Medical College in Amritsar for autopsy.

Sources said that during the stampede four boys were also reportedly injured but their conditions were described out of danger.

Senior Police officers including SSP Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, Deputy  Commissioner Amritsar Kahan Singh Pannu and senior army officers
immediately after the incident reached on the spot and brought situation under control.  Recruitment process was resumed after two hours.

However, Deputy Commissioner Amritsar Kahan Singh Pannu said that the proposal of payment of compensation of Rs. 2.5 lakhs to kin of each deceased has been sent to Punjab government. He said that incident had occured due to mismanagement at the recruitment rally.

Deputy Commissioner said that he visited the site and found that the Army recruitment system is too old to adopt in the present era as this system was around one hundred year back. "We informed the Punjab Government to bring into the notice of Union Government of India to bring change in the faulty recruitment process of Army, since now population doubled three times more" added Pannu.

Pannu said, "It is purely inhuman for the Army Authority to invite the unemployed boys a day before the recruitment without making any arrangement for food and shelter and tell them in the morning for hard physical tests with empty stomach".

Kashmir Singh father of Harjnider Singh said that the entire family was already hand to mouth and in odd circumstances his son has passed out plus two (12th standard) exams and now the untimely death of young boy became worst tragedy in the family.
 
Family members of another boy Ranjot Singh said that his father died long before and family was already struggling hard for two square meal and there were lot of hopes were attached with Ranjot now all reduced to ashes.