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New Delhi railway station stampede: AAP takes dig at L-G VK Saxena for editing tweet, omitting mention of deaths
The AAP claimed that Lieutenant Governor (L-G) VK Saxena first “accepted in his tweet that there was a stampede and that passengers had died” but later edited it “to save his masters.”
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) hit out at Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) VK Saxena on Sunday for omitting his post on the New Delhi railway station stampede. The party claimed that Saxena first "accepted in his tweet that there was a stampede and that passengers had died" but later edited it "to save his masters."
"This tweet of his is proof of how expert he is in running away from his responsibility," the AAP posted on X.
Arvind Kejriwal's party added, “After the tragic incident at New Delhi Railway Station, he [Saxena] first accepted in his tweet that there was a stampede and that passengers had died. Later, to save his masters, he edited his tweet and removed the mention of passengers dying from it.”
"More than 15 people lost their lives and the central government and the L-G are not even accepting it, let alone expressing grief. There can be no more shameful example of their failure than this," the AAP said.
The AAP also shared a screenshot of L-G Saxena's tweet.
What did Saxena say in his tweets
In his original post, Saxena said there was an "unfortunate and tragic" incident of "loss of lives and injuries" due to "disorder and stampede" at the New Delhi Railway Station. "My deepest condolences to the families of victims of this tragedy," he added.
However, after about 15 minutes, Saxena edited his post to delete the reference to deaths. No explanation was given.
After editing, his post read, “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.”
Saxena further informed that he spoke to the chief secretary (CS) and the police commissioner, and asked them to address the situation.
"CS has been asked to deploy relief personnel. Have instructed CS & CP to be at the site and take control of relief measures. I am constantly monitoring operations," he said.
New Delhi Railway Station stampede: What we know so far
A stampede broke out at the New Delhi Railway Station, near platform No.14, around 9.55 pm, prompting an emergency response from authorities.
The death toll in a stampede overnight at the New Delhi Railway Station rose to 18, officials said on Sunday, as the city police launched an investigation into the incident.
"More than a dozen also injured in the stampede that broke out late Saturday night at the railway station, officials said.
The stampede was preceded by a swell in crowd of passengers waiting to board trains for Prayagraj — where the Maha Kumbh is underway — on platform number 14 and 15 of the station.
What led to the stampede
In an official statement, the deputy commissioner of police (railway) said platform number 14 was already very crowded when the Prayagraj Express train was waiting there for its departure.
The officer said Swatantra Senani Express and Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani Express were delayed and the passengers of these trains were also present on platform numbers 12, 13 and 14.
"As per CMI, every hour 1,500 general tickets were sold by railways due to which the station got overcrowded and became uncontrollable. There was a stampede at platform no. 14 and near escalator near platform no. 16," the DCP said.
On Sunday, the Delhi Police revealed details of the investigation into the New Delhi Railway Station stampede. The Delhi Police said the incident happened because of the “confusion” over the announcement of the trains “having the same initial name starting with 'Prayagraj'.”
“The announcement of the Prayagraj Special arriving at Platform 16 led to confusion because the Prayagraj Express was already at Platform 14. People who couldn't reach to their train at Platform 14 thought their train was arriving at Platform 16 leading to the stampede. Additionally, there were 4 trains heading to Prayagraj, out of which 3 were delayed, causing unexpected overcrowding,” the Delhi Police said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Business NewsNewsIndiaNew Delhi railway station stampede: AAP takes dig at L-G VK Saxena for editing tweet, omitting mention of deaths
First Published:16 Feb 2025, 08:23 PM IST
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