PremiumUnidentified miscreants pelted stones on the newly launched Howrah-NJP Vande Bharat Express on Monday, the second day of its commercial run. The premium train was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra on 30 December through video conferencing.
Stones were pelted at the bandh Bharat Express which was going to New Jalpaiguri towards Howrah. Initially, the stone fell on India's C-13 coach of the Vande Bharat Express near Kumarganj station at around 5:10 pm, according to the reports. Because of that, the glass of the door of the compartment was broken.However, there were no initial reports that any passengers were injured.
According to railway sources, New Jalpaiguri-Howrah Vande Bharat Express stopped at Malda Town which was the scheduled stop. Questions are also being raised whether stones were deliberately targeted at India in Bande. Railways is investigating the entire incident.
Eklavya Chakraborty, Chief Public Relations Officer of Eastern Railway, said about the matter, 'Who threw (stones) is being investigated. A stone pelting incident took place. The incident took place 20-25 km before entering Malda station (area under North-East Frontier Railway). Happens at different times in different places. We are aware of this. Various programs are conducted. It has decreased a lot. But today it happened again. It has to be seen. We are in touch with the state government."
“A case has been registered against unidentified persons under section 154 of the Railways Act. One main door glass was affected. No passenger was injured. Due to this, the train was not delayed," according to a statement by Indian Railways.
The train covers a distance of around 550km and will take a little more than seven and a half hours to reach its destination, with only three stoppages from Howrah to NJP.
The Vande Bharat runs six days a week except on Wednesdays. The train departs at 5.50 am from Howrah and reach NJP at 1.25 pm. From NJP, the train will depart at 3.05 pm and reach Howrah at 10.35 pm.
Last month in another incident, a windowpane of the Nagpur-Bilaspur Vande Bharat Express train suffered damage after an unidentified person hurled a stone at it in Chhattisgarh. The incident took place between Durg and Bhilai Nagar railway stations under the Raipur division of the South East Central Railway (SECR) on Wednesday evening when this semi-high speed train was heading to Bilaspur in the state, he said. "Somebody hurled a stone at the train from outside, which caused damage to a window of the E1 coach last evening. But nobody was injured in the incident," the official said. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) was informed about it and a probe was initiated, he added. The Vande Bharat Express train between Nagpur in Maharashtra and Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, the sixth such service in the country.