Rail roko protests: Several trains affected as protesters squat on railway tracks

Photo: IANS

New Delhi: Several train routes, were affected on Monday (October 18, 2021) as protesters squatted on railway tracks to extend support to the Samyukt Kisan Morcha's six-hour 'rail roko andolan'. According to a railway official, four sections of the Ferozepur division (Punjab) were blocked by the protesters and the Ferozepur-Fazilka section in Ferozepur city and the Ferozepur-Ludhiana section at Ajitwal in Moga were affected. 

(Photo: IANS)

As per reports, trains in Uttar Pradesh on the Bahraich-Mailani, Bahraich-Nanpara, Gorakhpur-Mailani and Lucknow-Mailani routes were also hit.

Punjab | Passengers of a Chandigarh bound train say they are facing trouble as the train was terminated at Dappar station in Dera Bassi tehsil of SAS Nagar district, due to the ongoing 'Rail roko' agitation by farmers' union pic.twitter.com/YSo0v9ZK17

— ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2021

Earlier, in a statement, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer unions spearheading the agitation against the Centre's three agri laws, had said that 'protests will be intensified until justice is secured' in the Lakhimpur Kheri case.

Haryana | Protestors block railway tracks at Bahadurgarh in protest against Lakhimpur Kheri incident

Samyukta Kisan Morcha has called for nationwide 'Rail roko' in protest against the incident pic.twitter.com/Ucvmfq6PcM

— ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2021

During the 'rail roko' protest, all train traffic will be stopped from 10 am till 4 pm on Monday, the SKM had said.

(Photo: IANS)

SKM has announced a nationwide Rail Roko 'Andolan' to press for its demand for Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra's dismissal and arrest, 'so that justice can be secured in the Lakhimpur Kheri massacre'. 

"The SKM asks for this action to be taken up peacefully, without any destruction and damage of any kind to any railway property," it had said.

This is to be noted that four of the eight people who died in the violence on October 3 were farmers, allegedly knocked down by a vehicle carrying BJP workers. Angry farmers then reportedly lynched some people in the vehicles. The other dead included two BJP workers and their driver.

Farmers have claimed that Ashish Mishra, son of Ajay Mishra, was in one of the vehicles, an allegation denied by Mishra and his son who say that they can produce evidence that he was at an event at that time.

Ashish Mishra, however, was arrested in the case on October 9.

(With agency inputs)