The Union railways ministry has ordered social media platform X to remove 285 links containing video of the deaths in the stampede at the New Delhi railway station on February 15, the Hindustan Times reported.

The ministry issued the notice on February 17 and directed X to take action within 36 hours. The tweets that the government sought to remove included some from prominent news outlets.

The stampede in Delhi, which took place amid a surge in passengers going to the Maha Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, led to 18 deaths and left many injured.

The railways ministry said that allowing videos of the casualties to remain on X was against ethical norms as well as the microblogging platform’s own content policy.

“Sharing of such video may create unwarranted law and order situation,” the ministry said in the notice to X, according to the Hindustan Times.

On December 24, the Union Ministry of Railways authorised the executive director of information and publicity (Railway Board) to send content removal notices directly to social media platforms under the Information Technology Act. Earlier, such notices would have to be sent through a committee under the information technology ministry.

This is among the first such content enforcement actions by the railways ministry since, according to the Hindustan Times.

X’s policy allows for sharing “graphic media” if it is properly labeled, not prominently displayed and not excessively gory. The platform says it seeks to strike a balance between honouring dignity and privacy in death and “the maintenance of a robust public record, especially for significant historical or newsworthy events”.

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