Advertisement
No injuries, however, were reported in the incident that took place near Kumarganj railway station, around 50 km from Malda town, on Monday evening, a Railway official said.
The glass door of coach number C13 of 22303 Vande Bharat Express was damaged in the incident, he said.
Kumarganj falls under the jurisdiction of the Katihar division of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).
Related Articles
Advertisement
Malda Town railway station Government Railway Police (GRP) IC Prashant Rai said that Railway Protection Force (RPF) is investigating the matter.
The train was flagged-off virtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Howrah station on December 30.
Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari wondered whether the incident was ”revenge” for the raising of ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans at the inaugural function in Howrah station.
”Unfortunate & sickening. Stones pelted at India’s pride Vande Bharat Express in WB’s Malda district. Is this revenge for ‘Jai Shree Ram’ chants on the Inaugural day? I urge @PMOIndia & @RailMinIndia to handover the probe to @NIA_India & punish the perpetrators. @AshwiniVaishnaw,” he tweeted.
BJP workers had raised ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans at the inauguration programme, as a result of which Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to get up on the dais from where the train was flagged off.
Attempts by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Governor C V Ananda Bose to pacify her did not bear fruit, as she chose to sit on a chair below the dais along with the audience.
The incident had created a major controversy, with the Trinamool Congress taking exception to the raising of ”political slogans” at a government programme, made more solemn by the death of the mother of the prime minister, while the BJP tried to downplay the incident, with Vaishnaw saying that nothing had occurred to cause any angst as party workers often raise slogans.