55 trains cancelled, some detained & diverted as Kurmi reignite protest for ST status

Kurmi organisations have called rail blockades in the states of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha to demand scheduled tribe status, with several trains – including express and Vande Bharat – being affected.

Although there were no rail blockades in West Bengal following a high court ban, protests in Jharkhand affected trains in the state.

Bengal remained peaceful apart from an incident in Kotshila station in Purulia, where protesters clashed with police on Saturday evening. Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram and Bankura remained peaceful with huge police deployment.

Officials said West Bengal remained peaceful but on high alert and under tight security.

According to the railways, 21 trains – including the Ranchi-Varanasi Vande Bharat Express, the Tatanagar-Patna Vande Bharat Express, the Ahmedabad-Howrah Express, the Mumbai-Shalimar Express, the Jammu Tawi-Sambalpur Express, and Ernakulam-Tatanagar Express – were stalled at various stations.

In SER’s afternoon report, Twelve trains had to be cancelled – including the Hatia-Kharagpur Express, the Hatia-Asansol Express, the Ranchi-Patna Express, the Ranchi-Patna Vande Bharat Express, and the Ranchi-Dumka Express — were cancelled. Two trains were diverted and five short-terminated.

“Train services of South Eastern Railway have been partially affected due to agitation by Adiwasi Kudmi Samaj today (20.09.2025). Agitation was staged at Bhanjpur station of Kharagpur Division from 05:02 hrs to 05:35 hrs,” a press release by South Eastern Railways (SER) said.

It further said: “Agitation is also continuing between the Sini-Gamharia section of Chakradharpur division, Rakhamines-Galudih Section of Kharagpur Division and Latemda-Jhimri & Namkum-Tatisilwai section of Ranchi Division. Due to agitation at some stations of Dhanbad division of East Central Railway, some trains are being controlled over SER jurisdiction”.

“We had previously apprised the protest leaders of the Calcutta High Court order (calling the rail and road blockade programme of the Kurmi’s illegal), and appealed to them to maintain peace,” Jhargam SP Arijit Sinha told the Indian Express.

A press release issued by the SER on Saturday evening said, “Train services of South Eastern Railway has been partially affected due to agitation by Adiwasi Kurmi Samaj today (20.09.2025). Agitation withdrawn from Bhanjpur, Sonua, Kotshila and Hesalong locations.”

“The agitation is continuing between Sini-Gamharia section & Sini-Kandra sections of Chakradharpur division. Ghatsila, Rakhamines-Galudih Section of Kharagpur Division. In Ranchi Division, Rail blockade is continuing at Muri Yard and Latemda-Jhimri & Namkum-Tatisilwai sections. Due to agitation at some stations of Dhanbad division of East Central Railway, some trains are being controlled over SER jurisdiction,” the release added.

According to SER a total of 43 trains were cancelled on September 20, while 12 trains scheduled for September 21 had to be cancelled.

According to SER, 20 trains were diverted and 24 trains had to face short termination. Eight trains are detained.

In Jharkhand, officials said the protests were affecting trains at three stations – Tatisilwai, Muri and Jhimri.

Pawan Kumar, Senior Divisional Security Commissioner, Railway Protection Force (RPF) at the Ranchi Division, said that hundreds of people had gathered on railway tracks at Muri, Tatisilwai and Jhimri.

“Train operations across these sections have been disrupted, with some services halted and several others delayed by about two to three hours. The authorities have rescheduled certain trains for the evening to reduce the impact,” he said, adding that the demonstrations have remained peaceful and no violent incidents have been reported so far.

On Saturday, a group of Kurmi protestors tried to block Kotshila station in Purulia. While the protesters tried to move them away from the tracks, protesters pelted stones at the police who have to baton charge to disperse the mob.

Meanwhile, the protest leadership has claimed that police have detained some Kurmi leaders.

“Police are doing rounds in villages since last night and terrorising our community members — especially in districts such as Purulia, Bankura and Paschim Medinipur – and are using the court order like a weapon. However, our agitation for our rights will continue. You will see what happens in the future,” Rajesh Mahato, chief advisor of Adivasi Kurmi Samaj, told The Express.

The Adivasi Kurmi Samaj has called for an indefinite rail and road blockade in Jhargram, Banukra, Paschim Medinipur and Purulia districts of West Bengal — apart from holding protests in parts of neighbouring Jharkhand and Odisha — from September 20 to demand scheduled tribe status and the inclusion of their language, Kurmali, in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

The Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution recognizes 22 scheduled languages.

On September 18, Calcutta High Court declared the rail and road blockade programme of Kurmis as illegal and unconstitutional.

Kurmis were included among the communities classified as STs in the 1931 Census and were excluded from the ST list in 1950. In 2004, the Jharkhand government recommended the community be added to the ST list rather than be categorised as OBCs.

Regarding an incident at Kotshila station in Purulia, Avijit Banerjee, district police superintendent, while speaking to media persons said, “Some protestors pelted stones on our force posted here. We later removed them from the area. Some of our personnel were injured. We have detained some persons involved in stone pelting.”