New Delhi: Diffidence and a lack of sure-footedness has marked the official response to the stampede at New Delhi railway station, which claimed at least 18 lives and left over a dozen injured on Saturday night.
Whether it was the Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw calling it a “sudden rush” and acknowledging the loss of lives only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s condolence post, or the Delhi lieutenant governor V.K. Saxena’s edited post removing the references to casualties, or the Northern Railways statement calling it a “rumour” and later blaming a passenger for it.
The chronology of posts
As reports of a stampede on Saturday night (February 15) first came to light, Vaishnaw, in a post on X, called it a “sudden rush”.
“Situation under control at New Delhi railway station (NDLS). Delhi Police and RPF reached. Injured taken to hospital. Special trains being run to evacuate sudden rush,” he said at 11:36pm.
In another post at 11:52 pm, he said that four special trains had been brought in to “evacuate this unprecedented sudden rush” and that the “rush has now reduced”.
Minutes later, the Delhi LG in a post became the first to confirm that lives were lost in a stampede and said that there has been “loss of lives” due to “disorder and stampede” at the railway station. However, he edited the post minutes later to remove any mention of a stampede or loss of lives.
In his original post at 11.55pm, Saxena wrote, “There has been an unfortunate and tragic incident of loss of lives and injuries due to disorder and stampede at New Delhi Railway Station. My deepest condolences to the families of victims of this tragedy.”
He also said that he had spoken to the chief secretary and police commissioner to address the situation and invoke DDMA (Delhi Disaster Management Authority) measures and deploy personnel, and that all hospitals are in readiness to address the exigencies. The government in Delhi is yet to be formed despite the BJP’s win in the assembly elections more than a week ago.
About 30 minutes later, Saxena edited the post to remove any mention of loss of lives or a stampede in a tweet at 12:24am.
His edited post said that there has been “an unfortunate incident at New Delhi Railway station.”
There has been an unfortunate incident at New Delhi Railway Station.
Have spoken to Chief Secretary & Police Commissioner and asked them to address the situation.AdvertisementCS has been asked to deploy relief personnel.
Have instructed CS & CP to be at the site and take control of…
— LG Delhi (@LtGovDelhi) February 15, 2025
In a post at 12:53 am, Vaishnaw said that a “high-level probe” had been ordered, quoting his earlier post of a sudden rush, but was yet to state that a stampede had taken place or that lives had been lost.
High-level inquiry ordered https://t.co/Egaifp5Onx
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) February 15, 2025
It was only at 1:09 am that Vaishnaw acknowledged that there had been a stampede and that lives had been lost.
“Deeply saddened by the unfortunate stampede that occurred at New Delhi Railway Station. My prayers are with all those who have lost their loved ones. The entire team is working to assist all those who have been affected by this tragic incident,” he wrote.
Vaishnaw’s post calling it a stampede and mentioning the loss of lives only came about 15 minutes after Prime Minister Modi in a post on X at 12:56 am said that he was “distressed by the stampede” and his thoughts were with those “who have lost their loved ones.”
CPRO blames stampede on a passenger
On Sunday, chief public relations officer (CPRO) Northern Railways, Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, in a statement to news agency ANI said that the “tragic incident” took place after a passenger slipped on the stairs of a footover bridge due to the rush, and other passengers fell over as a result.
“When this tragic incident took place yesterday, at that time, Magadh Express going towards Patna was standing on platform number 14 and Uttar Sampark Kranti going towards Jammu was standing on platform number 15. At this time on the stairs on the foot over bridge that lead to platforms 14 and 15, a passenger slipped and many other passengers from behind fell over. Because of this reason, this tragic incident took place. This is being investigated by a high-level committee. No train was cancelled, nor was there any change in platform,” he said.
Earlier on Saturday night ANI posted a statement from the CPRO Northern Railways to say that there was “no stampede” and “only a rumour”. The post, published at 11:11 pm, has since been deleted.
Opposition questions ‘cover up’
Opposition parties have accused the BJP-led Union government of a “cover up” following the chain of reactions in the minutes after the stampede first came to light.
The Congress on Sunday demanded Vaishnaw’s resignation and said that the Union railways minister has no moral authority to remain in his post.
“The Railway Minister should take responsibility for this accident and resign from his post immediately or the government should dismiss him,” said Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate at a press conference.
“In view of yesterday’s mismanagement and massacre, the Railway Minister has no moral right to remain in his post. The common Indian cannot be left at the mercy of such a Railway Minister who calls the death of people a ‘minor incident’ and hides the death toll instead of expressing sympathy for the victims.”
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh in a press conference accused the BJP government of covering up incidents that expose its mismanagement.
“Whenever an incident occurs due to the inaction and mismanagement of the BJP government, the government’s first response is to whitewash it. Those who have lost their lives or injured, there is no sympathy for them. The government tries to deny anything has happened by saying they are rumours and false. When the dead bodies are found, they are forced to accept it and start covering up the matter,” he said.
In a statement on X, TMC MP Saket Gokhale said that “for hours after the stampede, [the] Railways kept denying it and said it “was a rumour”. This was a brazen attempt at cover-up until the bodies started showing up”.
“This is a very tragic incident. Lives are being lost continuously, and the entire system has completely collapsed. The government has made no proper arrangements. The most painful part is that the poor are the ones suffering the most. The entire country, especially the people of Bihar, want to know—who is responsible for these deaths? Who is accountable?” RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said in a statement to news agency PTI.
The stampede in Delhi comes only about a fortnight after, on January 29 at least 30 people died as a stampede broke out when a huge crowd of devotees broke the barricades at the Sangam area during the Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj.
