Desk Report,
Video of stone-throwing at train in Rajshahi goes viral, authorities are analyzing the incident
A young man threw stones in front of a train in Rajshahi in protest against the government’s special train
for students and the public. Earlier, the young man had given a speech claiming to be a July fighter. The video of the incident at Rajshahi Railway Station on Tuesday morning went viral on social media. Railway authorities say they are analyzing the incident. If the incident in the video is true, legal action will be taken against the young man. Despite the objections of the July fighters, when the special train started moving, the young man stood in front with a stone in his hand and repeatedly told the driver, “Stop.” Even then, the train continued to move forward, and the young man threw stones at the train. The viral video shows that the young man, who wears glasses and has Babri hair and beard, threw stones and the train stopped after throwing stones. When the train started moving again after a few seconds, he said to the young driver standing in front of the engine, “Stop. Stop, stop, stop.” The train then stopped. After this incident, other passengers of the special train surrounded the young man. They got into an argument with him. At one stage, under the pressure of others, the young man, along with another young man wearing a flag on his head, pushed out of the crowd and went to the next platform and boarded the Silk City train.
Video of stone-throwing at train in Rajshahi goes viral, authorities are analyzing the incident
There is a provision for punishment under Section 127 of the Railway Act of 1890 regarding throwing stones on trains. In addition to a fine of 10,000 taka for throwing stones on a moving train, there is also a provision for life imprisonment from 10 years. If a passenger dies due to throwing stones, there is a provision for death penalty under Section 302. And if the stone thrower is a minor, there is also a provision for punishment of his guardian. However, the railway authorities are silent about the stone throwing by the young man. When asked about the public stone-throwing incident on the train, Rajshahi Railway Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Faisal Bin Ahsan said that they are looking into whether legal action can be taken in this regard by talking to the authorities. He admitted that the young man was causing trouble from the beginning.
Bangladesh Railway Western Zone General Manager Farid Ahmed said, “We have also seen the video, but we have not gone to the spot and analyzed it. We are collecting information through detectives. If the video is true, we will take legal action.” Asked why there is a delay in taking legal action even after such an incident happened in front of many people in public, Farid Ahmed said, “We will talk to eyewitnesses if necessary. We are also vocal against stone-throwing on trains. Miscreants do this. It is a criminal offense.”
A section of students protested at Rajshahi Railway Station this morning as they did not like the special train they were renting to go to Dhaka. They sat in front of the train. Among them, the stone-pelting youth lay down alone on the railway track. The train was stuck for about 45 minutes.
The July warriors were demanding an intercity train like the Banalata and Silk City Express trains. The special train allotted was a regular train (Bangla Train). Faced with objections to this train, the railway authorities later arranged for 35 people to be sent to Dhaka on the Silk City Express train under special arrangements. And everyone else left for Dhaka 45 minutes later on the previously allotted train. 200-250 passengers boarded that train from Rajshahi station.
The government has hired eight pairs of trains to bring students from all over the country to the historic July Declaration reading ceremony. These trains are supposed to take students from different districts of the country to Dhaka by noon today. Again, these trains will be taken to their destinations after the program. The fare for the 8 pairs of trains has been fixed at around 30 lakh 46 thousand taka. The July Declaration was read out on Manik Mia Avenue in front of the National Parliament in the capital this afternoon.
