The pelting of stones at trains is turning into a huge concern for passengers passing through Kannur and Kasaragod. In the latest such incident, miscreants pelted stones at three trains between Kannur and Kasaragod stations on Sunday night.
In Kannur, stones were pelted at the Netravati Express going to Mumbai, and the Chennai Superfast Express going to Chennai. The stone pelting took place at Thazhe Chovva and Valapattanam. The glass pane of a coach was broken in the incident. No passengers were injured.
The Railway police investigating the case have taken three people into custody. They were reportedly in an inebriated condition. However, the police are yet to confirm if they were behind the stone pelting.
In Kasaragod, miscreants threw a rock at the Okha Express between Kanhangad and Nileswaram stations. The incident happened at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday. The rock fell inside the train, but passengers were not injured in the incident.
On May 8, miscreants pelted stones at the Vande Bharat Express while it was passing by Valapattanam station. In another incident of stone pelting on May 1, the window pane of the C4 coach of Vande Bharat Express was damaged while the train was passing by Tirur station.
According to the railway authorities, 32 cases of stone pelting were reported in 2022 in the Palakkad division, while 23 cases have been reported in 2023.
Most incidents in 2022 were reported between Kozhikode and Kannur stations. Twelve cases were reported on the stretch. This year, 11 cases have already been reported between Kozhikode and Kannur stations and and three between Kasaragod and Mangaluru stations.
The Railway Protection Force and the local police have registered five cases in 2023, which is higher than the number in previous years. In all cases, suspects were arrested and remanded.
B. Devadanam, Public Relations Officer of the Palakkad Division, said that to curb the menace of stone-pelting, bike patrolling parallel to the railway track was introduced by the Railway Protection Force. Regular awareness campaigns are also being held at schools and colleges situated near the track, in coordination with the local police, school and college authorities and local representatives of the areas concerned. People living in the vicinity of such locations have been urged to cooperate with the local police and Government Railway Police to identify the culprits.
Stone-pelting and sabotage attempts would be dealt with seriously under non-bailable sections of the Railways Act. They were punishable with imprisonment for up to five years, added Mr. Devadanam.
