The Railway Ministry has directed platform X to remove 285 social media links featuring videos of casualties from the tragic stampede at New Delhi Railway Station on February 15, reports said.
The action stems from new authority granted on December 24, when the Railways ministry empowered its executive director of information and publicity (Railway Board) to issue takedown notices directly to social media platforms under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act. Previously, such requests were routed through the IT ministry’s Section 69A blocking committee.
The ministry has given the social media 36 hours to remove tweets from multiple accounts citing concerns about “sensitive or disturbing media depicting deceased individuals”, the Hindustan Times reported.
In the February 17 notice, the ministry said that it was empowered under the section to issue takedown notices “to remove/disable access to URLs, accounts, etc. where unlawful advertisements, endorsements, promotional content, etc. are published”.
According to official figures, at least 18 people, including nine women, four men and four children, were killed and more than a dozen injured in the deadly stampede. According to a rough estimate, over 50,000 people had reached the New Delhi railway station to go to Prayagraj for Mahakumbh.
Multiple videos had emerged showing a massive crowd of passengers rushing through the railway station. Many were seen carrying children on their shoulders, while others struggled with their luggage amidst the chaos.
The Delhi High Court had issued notices to the Union government, Indian Railways, and the Railway Board seeking immediate implementation of safety measures to prevent such tragedies in the future.