GRP, police personnel injured in brickbatting by passengers

Barasat: At least six GRP and police personnel were injured on Monday in brickbatting by two groups of passengers when the security forces tried to remove them from the tracks at Khardah station during a protest against Railway's decision to convert four coaches of a ladies special train to general compartments.

Seven persons were also arrested, police said.

The trouble started on Monday morning when male and female passengers launched seperate sit-ins on the tracks at the Khardah station on the Sealdah-Krishnagar section of Eastern Railway, a GRP official said.

Women passengers were protesting against the Railway's decision to convert four EMU coaches of ladies special, Ranaghat Matribhumi local, into general compartments, while men squatted in support the decision.

A GRP official said women passengers protesting against the decision launched agitation from 8 AM. Male passengers supporting the decision, launched a counter agitation from 10 AM till 12.40 PM.

As the protests turned acrimonious, the railway station turned into a war zone with the groups exchanging brickbats.

When police and GRP failed to disperse the protesters, police resorted to teargas shelling and lathi charge to disperse the protesters, Commissioner of Police Barrackpore Police Commissionerate, Niraj Kumar Singh, who rushed to the station said, adding more police had been called in to control the law and order situation.

Train services on the Sealdah-Krishnagar section was disrupted till 12-20 PM.

Contingents of RAF and combat force have been posted in the area as a precautionary measure, Singh said. Seven arrests have been made, Singh said, adding that injured police personnel were hospitalised.

An Eastern Railway press release said, "About 150 women passengers obstructed train movement at Khardah station protesting the opening of a few coaches of Matribhumi Ladies Special trains for the male passengers. They detained 31602 Dn Ranaghat-Sealdah Matribhumi local at Khardah station from 9.02 AM."

The blockade was removed after senior Railway officials assured them of reviewing the decision, the release said.

This, however, did not end the matter as the male passengers sat on the tracks "demanding their share of coaches in Matribhumi Ladies Special".

And when the GRP and police from the local police station reached the place to remove the blockade, the men passengers allegedly started pelting stones at them in which several persons were injured.

They continued their demonstration on the tracks which was finally removed at 12.40 PM, Eastern Railway CPRO R N Mahapatra said.

Stating that the inclusion of three general compartments to Matribhumi Ladies Special was done on "experimental basis", Mahapatra said the matter would be reviewed. "This is not for the first time that we have done this (adding general coaches to Matribhumi locals). Earlier also it was done after it was found that there was only 30 per cent occupancy in most of the Matribhumi locals even in peak hours," Mahapatra said.

The release stated that "a section of lady passengers had approached the Railway administration for permitting male passengers in a few coaches of the train for the convenience of their accompanying male relatives to board the same train".

As a fallout of the blockade, 20 pairs of local trains were cancelled besides several others were detained at various stations enroute, the ER release said.

Special trains were used to clear passengers stranded between Sealdah & Sodepur.