Vande Bharat Express: Miscreants throw stone at train, windows shattered

The glass windows of the newly launched Vande Bharat Express train on the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri route were broken after miscreants pelted stones at the moving train.

An incident of pelting stones at the newly launched Vande Bharat Express in has come to light. It is to be noted that stones were hurled at the semi-high-speed train near Samsi Kumarganj of the Kathia division. Because of the impact of the stones hurled at the train, multiple coaches sustained damage, and the windows' glass cracked. During the incident, the passengers present on the train remained safe. Based on the reports, Railways has started an investigation to look into the incident. Specifically, stones were thrown at coach C-13 of the train when it was on its way to Howrah from New Jalpaiguri.

The incident comes within the first week of the launch of the train. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the semi-high-speed train in West Bengal on December 30. The ceremony took place in the presence of the state's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Following the incident, a case has been registered against unidentified men under section 154 of the Railways Act. If convicted, the person can have a jail term of up to 1 year or will be subjected to a fine or both.

Notably, this is not the first time the newly Vande Bharat express has experienced stone-pelting. Waris Pathan, the head of the AIMIM Party, stated that stones were hurled when AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi was riding in a train from Ahmedabad to Surat in Gujarat in November 2022. This incident was the second one to be reported in the month of November.

The Vande Bharat Express train on the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri route is the first in North East India and the seventh train in India. The train on this route covers 564 km in 7.45 hours and reduces travel time by three hours compared to other trains on the route. Furthermore, the train has three stops on the route i.e., Barsoi, Malda, and Bolpur.