4 min readKolkataJan 4, 2023 07:58 AM IST
First published on: Jan 3, 2023 at 01:07 PM IST
Unidentified miscreants Monday pelted stones at the newly-launched Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express in north Bengal’s Malda. The incident took place in Kumarganj of Malda district when the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express train was on the second day of its journey.
According to the Railways, a door on the right side of room C-13 was damaged due to stone pelting. No one has been arrested in the incident.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 30 inaugurated the Vande Bharat Express virtually from Gujarat. The passenger movement started on Sunday.
Eastern Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Eklavya Chakraborty told Express, “It’s a social evil. We are trying our level best to address this through regular campaigns. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) is also regularly doing such exercises to appeal to people not to throw stones at trains. It still continues in some places. Such incidents have, however, come down with regular awareness campaigns. As far as this incident is concerned, the police have been informed, they are looking into it with the help of RPF. It is a law and order issue.”
Chakraborty also mentioned how at one time it was very common on local trains in the Park Circus area.
The incident has sparked a massive uproar from political parties in the state.
The ruling Trinamool Congress has hinted at some “conspiracy” behind the incident.
“First by throwing stones and then highlighting it, the BJP may be behind all this. Could be a conspiracy. They are trying to malign Bengal. Also, in Uttar Pradesh, there is a double engine ‘Sarkar’, yet Vande Bharat has been attacked thrice. Why is there no probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) being demanded? Why are the BJP leaders not tweeting about it? We strongly condemn the incident and attack on Vande Bharat. It could also be some cheap politics to malign Bengal,” said Kunal Ghosh, TMC’s spokesperson.
The BJP, however, alleged the involvement of the TMC in the incident. “At least they should condemn the incident. Public property is being damaged. Their (TMC’s) tone suggests its involvement,” said BJP’s national vice-president Dilip Ghosh.
BJP’s West Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar blamed the TMC for the incident and alleged that it could be a revenge for raising “Jai Shree Ram” slogan during the launch programme.
Amit Malviya who is in charge of BJP’s national Information and Technology Department took to Twitter to attack West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee following the incident.
“Bengal desperately needs world-class infrastructure, connecting North to South. Mamata Banerjee has been an unmitigated disaster when it comes to acquiring land for critical infrastructure projects like roads and airports. Now she can’t even secure the Vande Bharat! Shame on her,” Malviya tweeted.
The Congress, meanwhile, termed the incident an insult to Bengal. “If there is politics behind it then I condemn it in strong words. Train is our property. We common people pay tax, we pay for travelling on trains. Such things must be stopped,” said senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
High drama played out at the launch of the Vande Bharat Express on Friday when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had refused to go up on the stage after the BJP supporters greeted the Bengal CM by shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ upon her arrival.
PM Modi flagged off the Vande Bharat Express connecting Howrah and New Jalpaiguri and a slew of other projects worth Rs 7,800 crore in the state on Friday.
Stones were pelted at Vande Bharat Express connecting Howrah to New Jalpaiguri, four days after its launch, near Malda station on Tuesday. (ANI Photo) 
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