Girl ‘almost suffocated' to breathe in overcrowded train as bystanders mock her; Railways shows ‘concern'

Mint

2 days ago

A viral video showing a young girl apparently in distress and struggling to breathe in a train coach while onlookers laughed and filmed her has gained widespread attention on social media, with internet users calling it a 'disturbing behaviour' from bystanders.
'A girl was almost suffocated, stampeded into a train coach and she was running out of breath. The crowd on the platform was laughing and mocking her. What do you call such behavior?' an X user said.
They added, Every festival the surge at railway stations and people entering trains without tickets surges, the mob rules the trains. Why cant we have access control to railway stations at least during festival season and especially known stations which have massive crowds trying to get into trains.
'Deploy CRPF etc at such stations during festival peak at selected stations and have access control for them during the peak. I Dont think its an impossible task,' they suggested while tagging Railways and Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
A young girl, seated by the window in a second-class train coach, is visibly struggling to breathe amid the unbearable heat. Surrounded by a crush of passengers both inside the overcrowded compartment and on the packed platform, she makes repeated attempts to open the window in search of fresh air. At one point, in a bid to cool herself down, she splashes water on her face.
What's more disturbing is the reaction of the bystanders. Rather than stepping in to help, several people outside the train are heard laughing, shouting excitedly, and filming the scene. As the girl gasps for air in the sweltering environment, the crowd appears more entertained by her suffering than moved by it.
The date and time of the video remains unknown. However, it has sparked the discussion around safety of passengers, especially during festive seasons.
'We are concerned to see this. Please share details Like Place of incidence, Date of incidence and Mobile no. so that we get it checked. You may also raise your concern directly on https://railmadad.indianrailways.gov.in for speedy redressal,' it said.
One of the users said, 'Indian train is like a reminder, one ride in General class and now even Sleeper is enough to make you promise yourself you will work hard so you never travel like this again.' Another commented, 'She's clearly having some sort of anxiety attack due to the crowd & heat. WTF is so funny to the people watching her? Disgusting behavior.'
A third remarked, 'This happen on all festivals, Railway should implement strictly that only Tickets holder can broad train and seat based ticket to be issued only.' 'Deploying security and good infrastructure should be essential, but this also shows just how badly we lack basic civic sense as a society,' stated a fourth.