On Saturday, March 11, the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express train was attacked in West Bengal. This time, stones were hurled at the high-speed train in Farrakka, damaging the window panes of one of its coaches.
According to a statement issued by Eastern Railways, the incident was reported to have taken place near Farrakka in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal. “This is a very unfortunate incident. It will be investigated,” Kausik Mitra, CPRO, Eastern Railway said.
Ever since its first commercial run on 17 February 2019, the Vande Bharat Express, or Train 18 has been attacked multiple times across the country. The fixation of people opposed to India’s development and ‘Make in India’ initiative has been evident in the attacks on the high-speed train.
Here is a list of attacks on the Vande Bharat Express train since its first commercial run.
Vande Bharat Express attacked in Telangana in February 2023
On February 10, this year, the Vande Bharat Express train, running between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam was attacked by ‘miscreants’ in Telangana.
As the train departed the Secunderabad train station, unidentified miscreants hurled stones at it. A glass window pane in coaches C-4 and C-8 of the Vande Bharat Express was damaged in the attack.
We don’t deserve development… another Vande Bharat train vandalised, stones pelted in Telangana pic.twitter.com/HOVkTZO7Yl
— Akshita Nandagopal (@Akshita_N) February 11, 2023
Stones were pelted on the Vande Bharat train between Mahabubabad and Khammam railway stations. Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police (GRP), and local police were alerted to the attack and rushed to the scene to launch an investigation.
Stones pelted on Vande Bharat Express in Bihar
On January 20 this year, stones were pelted by unidentified miscreants on New Jalpaiguri-Howarh Vande Bharat Express in Bihar’s Katihar. Although none of the passengers were injured, the window panes of coach number C-6 were shattered in the stone pelting.
According to officials of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), the incident took place between the railway stations of Dalkola and Telta in the Katihar division of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).
Stone pelting on 22302 Down Vande Bharat Express was reported to have taken place on Jan 20, while it was crossing Dalkhola-Telta railway station. The spot comes under Balrampur in Katihar, Bihar
— ANI (@ANI) January 21, 2023
Visuals from Malda station as the train passed through here. One windowpane broken. pic.twitter.com/ubIX6XDwNE
Stone pelting on Vande Bharat Express in Malda
On January 2, the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express was damaged only a few days after it began operation when stones were pelted at it in West Bengal’s Malda district. The glass door of coach C13 of the 22303 Vande Bharat Express was damaged. After the incident, the train did not stop in the middle of its journey; instead, it came to a stop at the Malda Town railway station. None of the passengers were injured in the attack.
Correction: I was supposed to come to West Bengal but due to personal reasons, I could not come there. I seek forgiveness* from the people of Bengal: PM Modi during the inauguration event of Railway projects that was attended by him virtually
— ANI (@ANI) December 30, 2022
It is notable that the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through video conferencing on December 30th, 2022, hours after performing the last rites of his mother Heeraben Modi who passed at the age of 100.
Stones hurled on Vande Bharat Express in Chattisgarh
At Dadhapara in Chhattisgarh, some miscreants hurled stones at the Vande Bharat train breaking the train’s glass windows. The incident took place in February this year as the train was passing through Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur district. Though no passenger injuries were reported, at least nine windows on five coaches were damaged.
Earlier, in December 2022, Stones were thrown at the Vande Bharat Express train (20826) by several unidentified miscreants as it traveled from Nagpur to Bilaspur.
According to SECR Railway PRO Vipin Vaishnav, the glass in the E-1 coach of the Vande Bharat train was damaged at the time when stones were thrown at the train as it traveled between Durg and Bhilai.
Vande Bharat attacked in Uttar Pradesh
On February 20, 2019, the Vande Bharat train was attacked on its way to Varanasi. Stones were hurled at the express train near Hirangaon railway station under Tundla police station limits. An identified person had thrown a stone at the train breaking one of its window panes. The incident came to light after a person shared the news via social media.
1,503 cases of stone pelting on moving trains in 2022
In January of this year, Indian Railways said that more than 1,500 incidences of stone-throwing on moving trains had been reported nationwide in 2022 and over 400 persons had been arrested for the offense.
“The RPF recorded 1,503 incidents of stone-throwing on moving trains during the year, and 488 people were arrested as a result. RPF has organized several awareness campaigns to inform people living close to railroad tracks. More than 100 people carrying explosives or fireworks in trains were also detained during this drive,” Railways stated in a statement outlining the accomplishments of the RPF for the year 2022.
