Dubai: Twitter to the rescue. Twenty-six girls were rescued in Uttar Pradesh from the Muzaffarpur-Bandra Awadh Express by the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF), after a tweet went viral.
While on board the train, Adarsh Shrivastava noticed a group of “juvenile girls”, being accompanied by two men. The girls were crying, and sensing something suspicious, Shrivastava immediately tweeted to the Minister of Indian Railways, Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyel), Prime Minister Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) and others, in the hope that someone would intervene.
I am traveling in Avadh express(19040). in s5. in my coach their are 25 girls all are juvenile some of them are crying and all feeling unsecure.@RailMinIndia @PiyushGoyal @PMOIndia @PiyushGoyalOffc @narendramodi @manojsinhabjp @yogi
— Adarsh Shrivastava (@AdarshS74227065) July 5, 2018
According to a report by Indian newspaper Hindustan Times, officials in Varanasi and Lucknow, reacted to the tweet and investigated the matter. The culprits were then detained and questioned.
Shrivastava is being hailed as a “hero” on social media because his “quick judgement” helped save minor girls from a bad situation and many tweeps said he should be rewarded for his efforts.
His comment was retweeted more than 7,000 times and had 4,000 comments.
Indian actress Mallika Sherawat @mallikasherawat posted: “Thank God these 26 girls were rescued. God knows how many go unnoticed and never get any help. It’s my dream that all girls live free. #FreeAGirl.”
Thank God these 26 girls were rescued! God knows how many go unnoticed and never get any help. Its my dream that all girls live free. #FreeAGirl https://t.co/l0Yk6Nyh5j
— Mallika Sherawat (@mallikasherawat) July 7, 2018
@RituRathaur tweeted: “After a Passenger’s Tweet, 26 Minor Girls Rescued from Train in UP. Wow. Fantastic use of [Social Media] platforms for governance by Modi Sarkar (government)! It’s a case study in itself.”
According to reports, in an official statement by the RPF, they said: “26 girls were found… All of them are from West Champaran in Bihar. The girls were being taken from Narkatikyaganj to Idgah… Their parents have been informed and the men have been taken into custody”.
@Omkara75 said: “What you guys did regarding the trafficking attempt of 26 minor girls was remarkable…God bless you.”
@cuppachai said: “Appreciate the timely action taken by the authorities. The sensible act of the traveller....hope we all get into doing work as such of being caring humans.”
While most tweeps were full of praise for Shrivastava, others raised concerns over the safety of girls and why the government is not ensuring that such incidents don’t happen. Others commended the police officials for using social media as a tool to help the public and fight crime.
