A train was vandalised in West Bengal's Nadia district on Sunday evening, 12 June, during a protest by locals against suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma's derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad.
A large number of protesters attempted to put up a road blockade in Bethuadhari, and when they were chased by the police, the demonstrators entered a local railway station and threw stones at a local train that was waiting at a platform, reportedly injuring a few people.
"An unruly mob of 1,000 people pelted stones on the train. Few people were injured," Chief Public Relation Officer, Eastern Railway, Eklavya Chakraborty was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. Some house were also damaged, as per the police.
Train services in that line were disrupted for around two hours due to the incident, which occurred around 6 pm.
Ten people have been detained in connection with the attack on the train, an officer told news agency PTI.
Group of Protesters Vandalises Dhubulia Railway Station
Further, another group of protesters vandalised Dhubulia railway station in Nadia. Some employees of the station and passengers of the Krishnagar-Lalgola local train were injured, an official of the Eastern Railway were quoted as saying.
“We are looking for the miscreants who carried out the attack. Huge teams of GRP and RPF have also arrived here. The situation is under control now," the Eastern Railway official said, as per the PTI report.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra tweeted, "Violence takes away from protest, doesn’t add to it. Just as hate speech laws should be applied to rabid hate mongers, so should protestors stick within purview of law while demonstrating. Keep the peace, please."
The protests in Nadia come after violence and clashes between police and protesters in Kolkata's Howrah on Friday and Saturday, over the remarks against the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. On Friday, when protests were observed across nine states in the country, the BJP office was set ablaze in Howrah's Panchla during protests.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said that "strict action would be taken" against "some political parties" behind the violence, and has appealed to the public to maintain peace.
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