SHILLONG: Some locals in Bihar pelted stones at a special train carrying returnees to the North East on Sunday morning injuring a Naga girl.
The occupants of the Haryana Express -04072, which passed through Bihar, were stranded residents from various parts of the North East, including Meghalaya.
Police sources said that the train started from Haryana with the persons from the North East and local people at Danapur in Bihar entered the train thereby creating congestion which resulted in some altercations.
The locals also wanted to travel in the train and hence there was a confusion, sources said.
According to sources, the locals threatened the occupants and pelted stones. This resulted in the disruption of movement of train.
Later, the train started moving slowly but stopped intermittently in Sonpur.
There was another stone pelting incident at Sonpur in which the Naga girl was hurt.
The Meghalaya Police informed Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the matter was followed up.
According to sources, the harassment continued till Katihar. It was learnt that the Bihar police helped the locals to board the train in Danapur. The locals again pelted stones at the train at a place before Katihar but there was no damage and the train moved ahead.
According to police, the RPF personnel were asked to keep vigil inside the compartments.
In a statement, the state government said that upon hearing the unfortunate incident involving the people of Meghalaya in the special train bound for Guwahati from Gurugram, when a group of people forcibly boarded the train at Danapur station in Bihar, the government through the Chief Secretary M S Rao and DGP R Chandranathan took up the matter with their counterparts in Bihar as well as in New Delhi.
“Chief Secretary took up the matter with the Chairman of the Railway Board seeking immediate intervention and protection for the citizens of not only Meghalaya but other NE states as well who are traveling in the same train”, the statement said.
Besides taking up the matter with Bihar DGP, Chandranathan also spoke to the DG of Railway Protection Force seeking immediate intervention.
Meghalaya Police Nodal Officer Dalton Marak, DIG also pursued the matter with his counterpart in Bihar.
The state government sought enhanced security measures for passengers through Bihar and also an assurance that such incidents will not occur again.
“As of now, the train has exited Bihar with the RPF escorting it and it crossed West Bengal before entering Assam,” the chief secretary said.
The chairman of Meghalaya State Planning Board, Lambor Malngiang will hold a meeting with the Bihari association in Shillong to discuss the matter on Monday. “The intention is to maintain peace as the Bihari association has already taken up the matter with the concerned authorities in Bihar”, Malngiang said.
