Bodies found at Belakoba, Falakata in Jalpaiguri district, no security in assam-bound trains
Manas R Banerjee & Sankha Ghosh, SNS, SILIGURI, 19 August 2012: Four passengers of a Guwahati-bound special train coming from Bangalore died and several others were injured after they were allegedly beaten up and thrown out of the train last night.
The Government Railway Police today recovered the bodies of the passengers beside the railway tracks at Belakoba and Falakata in Jalpaiguri district.
The bodies were taken to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. The administration declined to divulge the identities of the victims, but sources said they hailed from Assam. Police also rescued nine injured persons allegedly thrown out of the same train last night. Two of them are residents of Ratua in Malda and others are residents of Assam. The injured persons were admitted to the Jalpaiguri district hospital and then referred to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. Two of them are critically injured and a neurosurgery has been done, NBMCH authorities said. Terming it an unfortunate incident, the Northeast Frontier Railway’s chief public relations officer, Mr S Hajong, said: “The general compartment was jam-packed and a scuffle broke out inside the compartment over accommodation. An inquiry is going on to ascertain the facts.”
The authorities could not explain whether the passengers were killed inside the compartment and then thrown out of the coach.
The Jalpaiguri divisional commissioner, Mr AK Singh, said: “Police recovered four bodies and rescued nine persons. Police are investigating the incident seriously.”
Sources said police will interrogate the injured when they recover. The inspector-general of police, north Bengal, Mr Anuj Sharma, said: “The railway police are inquiring into the matter. A normal alert has been sounded.”
The victims alleged that there was no security inside the train compartment.
Eight North-east bound special trains had left Bangalore, three of them have already arrived in Guwahati and the remaining five, including the train that figured in last night's incident, were on their way.
Mr Hajong said: “Security has already been beefed up on the remaining trains. Besides, security personnel have been posted on the stretch from NJP to Bongaigaon in Assam.”
Police found the first body at Belakoba late last night. Two more bodies were recovered from near the level crossing No 10 at Falakata this morning.
Later, locals found another body beside the railway tracks in the Belakoba area.
Following the recovery of the bodies, a mob blocked the tracks for over three hours this morning demanding security in compartments. The agitation disrupted train services. Railway sources said trouble erupted after the train had left NJP. A scuffle broke out when the train reached Raninagar. The situation turned worse after the train left the station around 9.15 last night.
According to officials, two injured persons, residents of Malda, could not get down from the train at Malda Town station due to overcrowding in the compartment.
The four critically injured persons are Asiqul Islam, Asraf Hussain, Sahajhan Ahmed, Amirul Islam. Five others ~ Hussain Ahmed, Hassan Ahmed, Rasid Ahmed, Sekh Samirul and Nazimuddin Laskar ~ sustained minor injuries. Asiqul Islam said: “We were 14 people in the coach. We were going to Assam to celebrate Id from Bangalore, where we work as security guards. After leaving NJP station some people, who were also on the train, attacked us. We were severely beaten up. Our money and mobile phones were snatched and we were thrown out of the running train. After that I do not know what happened."
Another injured person said: "There was not a single police personnel in the coach. Otherwise, the situation could have been prevented from getting worse.''
The Railways has announced immediate compensation of Rs 500 for those who sustained minor injuries, Rs 5,000 for those who are critically injured and Rs 15,000 for the family members of the deceased.
Police have been deployed at NBMCH to avoid any untoward incident.
The Siliguri MLA and chairman of the Assembly standing committee on health, Dr Rudranath Bhattacharya, met the injured persons.
Exodus to N-E abates
SNS & PTI,BANGALORE/CHENNAI, 19 August 20121: The panic exodus of North-eastern people from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra abated today and no special trains were operated to Guwahati but security personnel kept a tight vigil for the Id festival tomorrow. The Karnataka police pulled out all stops to tighten security in Bangalore by deploying 17,000 police and paramilitary personnel to ensure a peaceful Id tomorrow in addition to instilling a sense of security in the students, workers and security guards from the North-east.
With no unusual rush being witnessed in Bangalore from where 30,000 North-easterners had left, home minister R Asoka, who met a three-member Nagaland delegation, told them that the exodus had stopped after the government assured them safety.
The team comprised two ministers and the IGP. “Everything is calm. There is no need to panic,” Mr Asoka told reporters after the meeting. “We have arrested 16 persons in the city during the past three days for intimidating or sending disturbing SMSes to the North east population. The situation is under control,” he said.
Additional director-general of police Bhaskar Rao said: “Since yesterday, no special trains are plying to Guwahati. The exodus has stopped.”
The flight of people from the North-east was sparked by rumours and SMSes early this week that they will be attacked in the wake of the Assam violence.
In Chennai, the exit of North-easterners from the city dwindled with only a few hundred seen at the main Central railway station.
Although many continued to board the Azad Hind Express that goes to Howrah, the number of students and workers from Assam and Manipur rushing to the railway station out of panic was gradually decreasing, a railway official said.
In Mumbai too, no unusual rush was witnessed on the trains heading for West Bengal and North-east, Central Railway sources said.
Internet pages blocked
PTI, NEW DELHI, 19 AUG: The government is learnt to have ordered blocking of 80 more Internet pages and user-accounts today on social networking sites, including Facebook, Google and Twitter to avoid panic among people of the North-eastern region living across India. Meanwhile, Islamabad has rejected India’s charge over the involvement of a Pakistani group in doctoring images on social networking sites. Union home minister asked Pakistan to take steps.
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