India, Feb. 17 -- A day after a stampede at the New Delhi railway station led to the deaths of at least 18 people, former railways officials sharply criticised the crowd management at the station, and said that the authorities should have deployed adequate manpower to administer the large number of unreserved passengers who succeeded in entering the premises.

Separately, railways officials have ordered a probe into the incident, and have constituted a two-member committee to investigate the cause of the stampede.

On Saturday night, thousands of people who wished to board Prayagraj-bound trains to attend the Maha Kumbh arrived at the New Delhi station, with 7,600 unreserved tickets sold in just two hours for trains heading to the Uttar P...