In yet another worrying example of goings-on in the name of social media stardom, a group of youths in a remote part of India deliberately obstructed a high-speed Vande Bharat Express so that a video could go viral. The incident, too, in this regard, has found a place in cyberspace, where men are shown placing heavy wooden logs across the tracks of a premium train.
‘We stopped Vande Bharat’: The hunt for views
The video showed the group laughing and shouting words like ‘Vande Bharat rukwa diye’ (We stopped the Vande Bharat Express). As the express train slowed to a stop before the obstruction, the arrest of its trespassers began. When challenged by a police constable who suspected that the trespassers were attempting to board the train, the intruders replied, ‘Nahi, ghus rahe the, video shoot kar rahe the’ (We weren’t trying to board the train; we were shooting a video).
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This stunt has evoked massive outrage on social networks, as people and experts alike have referred to the act as “sabotage” instead of “pranking.”
Stopping Vandey Bharat and jeopardising lives of passengers by placing wooden logs for making reels, should be treated as an act of terrorism.
Request @RailMinIndia and @RPF_INDIA to arrest them all and coordinate with state government to slap NSA on them. pic.twitter.com/KPxKCPqxRm
— Oxomiya Jiyori (@SouleFacts) January 23, 2026
Social media outrage: Demand for NSA charges
The video has prompted a firestorm on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) with the hashtag using the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and the Railway Protection Force. According to them, risking hundreds of lives in the name of virtual engagement is a serious offense in itself.
“Stopping Vande Bharat and threatening the lives of passengers by placing wooden logs for making reels should be considered as a case of terrorism,” posted a social media user. Others have called for action to be taken against the offenders by slapping charges, including the National Security Act (NSA).
Strict legal consequences
“Such pranks have very serious legal consequences, and the offenders may be charged for violating the Railways Act, 1989.”
The offenders may be charged for the following offenses:
Section 150 (Malicious Wrecking): The act of placing logs or stones in railway tracks with an intent to impair safety can result in a life sentence or rigorous imprisonment of up to 10 years. If it is an offender’s first time in court, they receive a minimum of 3 years in jail.
Section 174: Obstructing the working of a train– Who-ever, by any unlawful means, obstructs the working of a train shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term that may extend to two years or with a fine or with both.
Section 147 (Trespassing): Whoever enters or remains upon any railway property without lawful authority can be punished with six months’ imprisonment.
Section 146: Irrelevant obstruction of railway staff carries a sentence of imprisonment up to six months.
Cracking down on ‘reel-culture’ sabotage
This incident comes after a spate of such dangerous stunts on railway tracks across the country, where stones, iron rods, or even gas cylinders have been placed to “test” the durability of trains or for capturing a viral video. The RPF has stepped up monitoring on social media to identify such miscreants and asserts that railway property is a national asset, with passenger safety being uncompromising.
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