After four days of launching the Vande Bharat Express on the West Bengal route connecting Howrah station, incidents of stone pelting were reported near Malda station.
According to Indian Railways, window panes of the train were broken after stones were thrown at them. The Railways has launched an investigation.
West Bengal | Stones pelted at Vande Bharat Express connecting Howrah to New Jalpaiguri, 4 days after its launch. The incident took place near Malda station. pic.twitter.com/Nm3XOmffpR
— ANI (@ANI) January 3, 2023
Though the stone-pelting triggered panic among the passengers, no one was reported hurt.
Trinamool Congress spokesperson and state general secretary of AITC Kunal Ghosh had sought a proper investigation of the incident. "@AITCofficial strongly condemns stone throwing at 'Vande Bharat'. We demand proper investigation. Same incident occurred in UP thrice. Statements related to this should include UP also. Is this a preplanned conspiracy to provoke cheap politics, this must be probed unbiassedly," Ghosh tweeted.
According to reports the incident took place on Monday at around 5.30 pm. The duty staff has reported the incident of stones being thrown at coach C-13 of the train after crossing Kumarganj station under IPF Samsi.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari has called the act "unfortunate and sickening." "Stones pelted at India's pride Vande Bharat Express in WB's Malda district. Is this revenge for 'Jai Shree Ram' chants on an inaugural day? I urge @PMOIndi & @RailMinIndia to hand over the probe to @NIA_India & punish the perpetrators," Suvendu tweeted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged off the semi-high-speed train between Howrah and New Jalpaiguri via video conferencing on December 30. It was the nation's seventh Vande Bharat express launched.
