That the pen is mightier than the sword is passé, a tweet is the mightiest weapon now. Do you know the power of just one tweet? 280 characters? From putting a smile on your face to calling out someone's misogyny to saving someone's life, a tweet can do it all.

And this time around it saved 26 lives from being destroyed. In a heroic act by a responsible citizen, the young girls were saved from being victims of human trafficking.

Twenty six underage girls were rescued by the GRP and RPF from the Muzaffarpur-Bandra Avadh Express after a tweet from a passenger alerted them about the situation.

It was on July 5, Adarsh Shrivastava, who was travelling in the S5 coach of the train, noticed around 25 girls crying and looking uncomfortable. He immediately tweeted about it, tagging the Railway ministry, Railway minister Piyush Goyal, PM Narendra Modi, and more.

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

subject to human trafficking )my current station is Hari Nagar my next station is BAGAHA and then Gorakhpur.kindly help them out. Please help.@RailMinIndia @PiyushGoyal @PiyushGoyalOffc @PMOIndia @narendramodi @rajnathsingh — Adarsh Shrivastava (@AdarshS74227065) July 5, 2018

Reacting to the tweet almost immediately, officials in Varanasi and Lucknow swung into action. And within half an hour of the alert on the social media site, they started investigating the matter, a railway spokesperson told PTI.

@upgrp kindly look into this matter — GM Northern Railway (@GM_NRly) July 5, 2018

The GRP at Gorakhpur coordinated with Childline along with the anti-trafficking unit of the police. Two RPF jawans in plainclothes boarded the train at Kaptanganj and escorted them to Gorakhpur.

"26 girls were found with two men, aged 22 and 55 years. All of them are from West Champaran in Bihar. The girls were being taken from Narkatikyaganj to Idgah. When questioned the girls were unable to answer anything convincingly, so they have been handed over to the child welfare committee. The girls are believed to be between the ages of 10 and 14 years. Their parents have been informed and the men have been taken into custody," a statement from RPF said.

With his presence of mind, Adarsh managed to alert the authorities and save the girls. That's the power of social media. People lauded him for his on-the-feet thinking. And are also requesting PM Modi to honour him with an award.



I request honorable PM @narendramodi ji to honour @AdarshS74227065 with award pic.twitter.com/FaDTih2iRS — Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) July 6, 2018

This is the best possible way to use our social media, inspiration to all and salute to adarsh Shrivastava, we all proud of you 🙏🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/7Zxz2cQBAN — VIPUL (@shri_vipul) July 6, 2018

Well done! You set the right example. — Vipul Mashru (@vipul_mashru) July 7, 2018

This reminds me NYC's MTA posters / appeals "If you see something, say something" Great job done! Kudos!!! pic.twitter.com/kesQZg4mLm — Lion king (@simbachikki) July 6, 2018

Congratulations. You saved 25 girls 👭. Salutes. If everybody is as vigilant as you & govt/police responds, crime rate will decrease.



Thanks to @RailMinIndia responding quickly. pic.twitter.com/udIAuXX6rA — ajitsinh Jagirdar #Translator #अनुवादक 🇮🇳 (@AjitsinhJagirda) July 6, 2018

All we can ask now for is more people like Adarsh. Bravo, man!

(With inputs from PTI)

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