The Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel have arrested three youth and three minors, who allegedly pelted stones on Vande Bharat Express, between Samalkot and Pithapuram stations, on April 28.
The gang reportedly rained stoned on the running train causing damage to the glass panes. However, no passenger was injured in the incident, said Rajahmundry RPF Inspector B. Saidaiah.
“Due to the stone pelting, the Vande Bharat Express was rescheduled by four hours for maintenance and repair works at Visakhapatnam Maintenance Depot on April 29. The incident caused severe inconvenience to the passengers and affected the punctuality of the train,” the RPF official said.
The three youth were produced in the Railway Court, Vijayawada, and the minors were produced before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), and were sent to Government Observation for Boys, on Wednesday, Mr. Saidaiah said.
“On receiving information, the RPF officials observed the CCTV footage of the train and identified that six were persons involved in the crime. The RPF and the local police searched Kapavaram, Chandrapalem and Samalkot and identified the accused,” said Senior Divisional Security Commissioner Valleswara Babuji. T.
The accused were booked under Section 153 of Railways Act, 1989. The accused were school and college dropouts, Mr. Babuji said.
DRM Shivendra Mohan said that passenger safety and punctuality of trains were the main objectives of Indian Railways, and warned that stern action would be taken against those who violated the Railway Act.
