DUJ and NAJ Demand Accountability Over Efforts to Silence Journalist Covering Stampede Tragedy

New Delhi, February 17, 2025: The Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) and the National Alliance of Journalists (NAJ) have expressed outrage at the actions of the Railway Police and authorities, who attempted to intimidate journalist Saumya Raj on February 16, 2025, while she was covering the aftermath of a fatal stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station.

Saumya, who works for the YouTube channel Molitics India, was documenting the tragic event when railway authorities allegedly asked her to stop filming, despite her providing her press identity card. In a disturbing turn of events, Raj's phone was reportedly snatched from her, and she was instructed to delete the video she had already recorded of the incident.

Both the DUJ and NAJ have strongly condemned this behavior, highlighting the ongoing issue of government authorities obstructing media freedom in an attempt to conceal their mishandling of disasters. In a joint statement, the organizations condemned the authorities’ "tendency to hide their acts of omission and commission from the public eye," especially in light of the stampede's deadly outcome.

“After the deadly stampedes during the Kumbh Mela, it was the responsibility of the Railway authorities to ensure better crowd management across all stations,” said the DUJ in a statement. “Rather than addressing their role in this tragedy, authorities seem more concerned with covering up their failures by intimidating journalists trying to report the truth.”

The organizations called for greater transparency and better governance, emphasizing that the public has the right to know the circumstances surrounding such tragedies. They demanded an end to attempts to silence the media and protect those in power from accountability. The incident has raised alarm over the increasing attempts to muzzle the press, particularly when it comes to reporting on government failures in times of crisis.