As the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station claims 18 lives, allegations have surfaced that authorities tried to hide the news of the tragedy that unfurled around 10 pm. Congress has also levelled charges that the Railways and the Centre downplayed the tragedy.
However, it was the edit in Delhi LG VK Saxena's post that raised eyebrows. The first post in Saxena's X handle appeared around 11:45 pm on Saturday night. It read: "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."
However, 15 minutes later, Saxena edited the post, deleting the reference to death. "There has been an unfortunate incident at New Delhi Railway Station".
The Railways too allegedly tried to smother the news. There were reports that the CPRO Northern Railways' initial response was that the stampede news that it "was just a rumour". "There was no stampede (at New Delhi Railway Station. It is only a rumour. The Northern Railways was running two planned special trains (for Prayagraj)."
It later acknowledged the incident, stating "15 people have been injured in a stampede-like situation."
The opposition has surrounded the government over this. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge wrote on X, "The attempt by the Narendra Modi government to hide the truth in the case of deaths at New Delhi Railway Station is extremely shameful and condemnable."
The Railways is also facing flak after many eyewitnesses said help didn't arrive for the injured people for at least 45 minutes. There are allegations that the stampede was triggered by the Railway administration's sudden decision to change the platform of the train from 12 to 16. This prompted the huge crowd to swarm to the 16th platform. There are also allegations that over 1500 general compartment tickets were given out in an hour, which prompted many to squeeze into AC and sleeper compartments.
Eyewitnesses allege that the rescue operation started late, due to which many lives were lost. "After the accident, only the porters and the people present here helped. They carried people on their shoulders to the entrance," he alleged.
However, the Railway senior officials said though they had anticipated a huge crowd, the swell was too much and things went out of control in minutes.