Guwahati: Following a few incidents of stones pelting at the newly inaugurated Vande Bharat Express recently in Malda and the New Jalpaiguri area, the Railway Protection Force has been organising awareness drives against stone pelting at moving trains.
The N.F. Railway, in a statement, stated that the incident triggered panic among passengers onboard.
Meanwhile, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel are working jointly to keep vigil in such areas.
Notably, pelting stones or similar objects on trains is a criminal offence under sections 152, 153 & 154 prescribed in Railway Act. Any person, if intentionally or unintentionally throws any object into or upon any rolling stock forming part of a train that may endanger the safety of any passenger onboard and obstruct any rolling stock; the offender shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend up to ten years.
Apart from stepping up vigil, awareness drives are also being organised by RPF at the locations of such incidents as well as in neighbouring areas covering schools, villages, etc. so that the miscreants desist from acts that endanger the safety of train operations.
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N. F. Railway appealed to the general public and passengers to inform on the toll-free helpline number (139) if they come across incidents such as trespassing and stone pelting.
Railway property is public property and the protection of the public property is everybody’s responsibility.
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