Delhi stampede: Crowd control measures intensified; Vaishnaw rules out conspiracy

Railway Minister dismisses conspiracy theories behind New Delhi stampede, as agencies enhance crowd control measures.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday (February 17, 2025) ruled out any conspiracy behind the stampede at the New Delhi station and said there was no extraordinary rush either, even as agencies enhanced crowd control measures by deploying additional security personnel, creating holding areas and intense CCTV monitoring.

Sources said a team of police officials visited the station on Monday to procure the CCTV footage to determine the sequence of the events that led to the stampede on February 15 that left at least 18 dead and 15 injured.

Five of the injured are still undergoing treatment in hospitals, even as survivors continued to recount their near-death experiences and officials remained on the toe to ensure no untoward incident happens.

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Railway Minister Vaishnaw said holding areas will be created at 60 stations experiencing high footfalls, a separate crowd management manual will be formulated and awareness will be raised among passengers to not sit at stairs.

Talking about the stampede, he told mediapersons here, "No conspiracy looks at the moment." He also said information available till now showed that there was no extraordinary rush either when the stampede broke out.

He also dismissed the platform change announcement as a cause of the stampede, saying, "The inquiry committee is looking into it deeply." Railway officials said the total capacity of all 16 platforms at the busy New Delhi station at any point in time is 48,000 passengers as each platform can hold 3000.