God told me to do it: RPF arrests man for hurling stones at Vande Bharat Express

BENGALURU: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) arrested a 36-year-old man for throwing stones at passing trains between Malur and Tyakal in the Bengaluru Railway Division on April 16. The miscreant, Abhijit Agarwal, is suspected to be of an unsound mind and has been booked under sections 153 and 147 of The Railways Act and produced in the court of the Judicial Magistrate at Malur. 

S K Thapa, Inspector, Passenger Services, RPF told TNIE, “My team and I, in civilian clothes, were patrolling the railway tracks when we spotted him picking a bunch of jelly stones from the tracks and hurling it at a passing SMVB-Patna Humsafar Express on Sunday at 3.43 pm.

Two other trains including Vande Bharat were due to pass shortly. We nabbed him before that.” He has been held responsible for hurling a stone on the Mysuru-Chennai Vande Bharat Express which passed the spot a day earlier. Since the stone only hit the body portion of the train, there were no injuries or damages.

The individual appeared to be depressed and carried so much food in his bag. “He told that he eats and sleeps on the railway tracks or stations only. He insisted that God commanded him to throw stones at trains and this would fetch him food.”

The person appears to be a regular stone pelter, he added. Senior Divisional Security Commissioner, RPF, Devanshu Shukla told TNIE, “Due to increase in incidents of stone pelting across the Bengaluru Division, we have reduced our three shifts to two. Cops have been assigned 12-hr shifts with nearly 100 in each shift to maintain vigil. This has helped us nab him.”