Political slugfest continued over stone pelting on Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express even as unidentified miscreants targeted the semi-high speed train for the second successive day on Wednesday.
A day after miscreants pelted stones and damaged the glass panes of C-13 compartment of the Howrah-bound train at Kumarganj in Malda district the train was again attacked on Wednesday just outside the New Jalpaiguri station.
This time window panes of coaches C-3 and C-6 were damaged, sources said adding no passenger was however injured in the attack. A joint team of State government controlled Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force was looking into the matter, sources added.
The second attack took place at Phansdidewa off NJP in Darjeeling district prompting BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh to allege that “angered by the BJP workers shouting Jai Shri Ram slogans at the inauguration of the Vande Bharat train (on December 30) in presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee the TMC men are pelting stones.”
State BJP president Sukanta Majumndar asked “why these people should pelt stones at a train which reaching the people in shorter times … if they really have to pelt stones they should do so at the BDO offices which have deprived the poor men of their rights to get PM Awas Yojna houses.”
Congress Lok Sabha Leader and former juniorn Railway Minister Adhir Chowdhury demanded an immediate inquiry into the incident. “We want the government to identify those who are doing it and punish them. This is the proof of the plight of the State administration … if the train is stopped suddenly then that will lead to inconvenience of the people,” he said comparing the attack to a T 20 match. “Attacked twice in three days. Much like a T20 cricket match, what else?,” he said. While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to comment back on the issue, her senior Cabinet collegue Firhad Hakim accused the opposition BJP of committing the mischief and trying to malign the State Government and the Trinamool Congress.
“Why the State Government or for that matter the ruling party TMC should instigate such attacks to invite criticism,” he said, wondering, “why other trains were not attacked … this means that the people who want to divide Bengal are trying to commit the crime and pass the blame on TMC,” Hakim said.
Meanwhile the RPF and the GRP formed a joint team to look into the matter. “A WhatsApp tean has been formed including security forces, Railway officials of all the stations that it passes through in order to share reports of incidents … we will catch the culprits,” a senior RPF official said.