Bihar derailed

Violence spread in major towns of Bihar on Wednesday on the second consecutive day of protest against the attack on north Indians by the activists of Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in Mumbai.

The Railways was the target of angry students, who torched six bogies of different trains at Barh, Athmalgola and Sasaram, besides disrupting railway traffic on the Howrah-Delhi main line via Patna and the Grandcord line via Gaya. Nearly 20 trains under Danapur railway division were stranded at different stations.

The police had to open fire at Sasaram, the district headquarters of Rohtas, in which two students were injured. The police resorted to firing to disperse a stone-pelting mob, which had disrupted the movement of trains since Wednesday morning. In the process, more than a dozen people sustained injuries.

Reports reaching the state police headquarters said agitators torched four bogies, including three AC coaches of Durg-Danapur South Bihar Express, at Barh railway station, 50 km from the divisional headquarter at Danapur. However, no one was injured in the incident.

Patna Superintendent of Railway Police D.N. Gupta said an AC chair car of Saharsa-Patna Kosi Express was set on fire by agitating students at Athmalgola railway station. “Additional armed force has been deployed at the two railway stations as a precautionary measure,” he added.

Meanwhile, several passengers were stranded at the New Delhi Railway station following cancellation of eastbound trains. Most passengers complained their Diwali celebrations would be marred now.