Main accused of train torching held

Mau, UP, Feb 3 (UNI) The Police today claimed to have arrested the main accused in the torching of three coaches of the Godan Express here on Thursday night.

District magistrate Guru Prasad said the police have arrested Vinay Rai, a member of the Hindu Vahini for the incident. In total, four people are accused of torching the coaches after pulling the chain of the Gorakhpur-bound train at Mehmoodabad.

Four GRP personnel onboard the train were sleeping when the incident took place. They have since been suspended.

The DM said the accused would be booked under the National Security Act (NSA).

Security on trains travelling through Uttar Pradesh has been increased following incidents of train torching during the communal unrest in Gorakhpur.

Cases of trains torched by miscreants in several parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh to allegedly protest the arrest of BJP Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath has finally forced the government to increase security on trains.

On Thursday night, three sleeper coaches of the Mumbai-Gorakhpur Godan Express were torched by miscreants at Mohammedbad.

The Godan incident was the fourth such reported incident since the communal flare-up in Gorakhpur exactly a week ago.

So far, miscreants have set ablaze railway coaches in Deoria, Balrampur, Siddharthnagar and Mau districts.

UNI