On Sunday, 11th February, the ‘Aastha Special’ train carrying 1,344 Hindu devotees left for Ayodhya from Surat. Notably, the government started the train to celebrate Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha. When the train was about to reach Nandurbar Station, a stone pelting incident took place.
Government Railway Police (GRP), and Railway Protection Force (RPF) have initiated an inquiry into the matter. OpIndia reached out to the devotees to take stock of the incident.
As per reports, Minister of State for Railways, Darshana Jardosh, flagged off the train at 8 PM on 11th February. When the train was about to reach Nandurbar Station in Maharashtra, unknown attackers started pelting stones at the train. Though the doors were closed, some stones entered the compartments. The train reached Nandurbar Station for a slight halt and continued its journey without delay.
Speaking to OpIndia, Vishva Hindu Parishad’s Surat chief and in-charge of the journey, Nilesh Akbari said, “The train reached Nandurbar Station at around 9:45 PM. Before reaching the station, stones were pelted at coaches S7, S11 and S12. Stones entered in the S7 coach.”
He added, “When the train reached Nandurbar Station, we informed GRP about the incident. Police swung into action and initiated an investigation into the matter. The train halted for a while and continued its journey.” He asserted that some anti-social elements took advantage of darkness and attacked the train.
Akbari spoke about the devotees on the train and said, “There are 1,344 Ram devotees on the train. They are members of RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal, among other Hindu organisations. The journey is peaceful, and we will reach Ayodhya at around 9 PM.” Speaking to the media, GRP said an investigation into the matter has been initiated.
Speaking to OpIndia, Hindu devotees said there was no fear among them, and they would continue the journey enthusiastically to worship Ram Lalla in Ayodhya. Furthermore, they added that no one got injured. The train stopped at Nandurbar Station for investigation and was let go once investigation completed.