Stones Hurled At Durg-Vizag Vande Bharat Train During Test Run; 5 Detained

In yet another incident involving a Vande Bharat train, stones were hurled at the high-speed express during its trial run in Chhattisgarh's Mahasamund district, leading to the arrest of five individuals, according to officials.

This comes just days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned flagging-off of the latest Vande Bharat Express, which is set to connect Durg in Chhattisgarh with Visakhapatnam (Vizag) in Andhra Pradesh.

Photo Credit: PTI

The incident occurred on Friday evening, raising concerns about security as Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the train on Monday, the eve of his 74th birthday.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) provided details of the incident, with Inspector Praveen Singh Dhakad stating, "The train was passing through Bagbahra railway station on its way back from Visakhapatnam to Durg during its trial run around 9pm on Friday. Some anti-social elements hurled stones at it, damaging window panes of the C2, C4, and C9 coaches. No one was injured."

The stones reportedly hit the windows, causing damage but fortunately did not result in any harm to passengers or staff.

According to Dhakad, the RPF escort team, led by an assistant sub-inspector, immediately raised an alert after the stone-pelting began.

Security personnel were dispatched to the site of the incident, and prompt action led to the arrest of the accused.

The five individuals taken into custody were identified as Shiv Kumar Baghel, Devendra Chandrakar, Jitu Tandi, Lekhraj Sonwani, and Arjun Yadav, all residents of Bagbahra.

The officials also revealed that one of the accused, Shiv Kumar Baghel, is related to a political figure, with his sister-in-law serving as a corporator for the opposition Congress party in the state.

The group faces charges under Section 153 of the Railways Act, 1989, which penalises anyone who endangers the safety of persons traveling on the railway through willful acts or omissions. If convicted, the accused could face up to five years in prison.