Amid ongoing politics over the Odisha train tragedy, it is important to note that in the past, too, attempts have been made to target the Modi government by sabotaging Indian Railway. In April 2023, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in the Parliament said that in the last five years (till 2022), a total of 334 cases of attacks/sabotages on trains had been registered in the country. According to the data, out of the 334 cases of attacks on trains in the last five years, 83 were reported in 2018, 66 in 2019, 45 in 2020, 59 in 2021 and 81 in 2022. Notably, at least nine incidents resulted in the derailment of trains.
On June 1, 2023, within two months of the infamous Elathur train arson attack case, a parked train was set ablaze in Kannur railway station in the wee hours
In April 2023, in a joint operation, Maharashtra Police and central intelligence apprehended the prime accused Shahrukh Saifi in the Kerala train fire incident, in which three people died and nine others were injured.
In March 2023, An incident of stone pelting on Vande Bharat Express train has been reported from West Bengal in which window panes of a coach of the high-speed train were damaged, Eastern Railway said in a statement. The incident was reported to have taken place near Farrakka in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, late evening on saturday. “This is a very unfortunate incident. It will be investigated,” Kausik Mitra, CPRO, Eastern Railway siad. An inquiry has been ordered, official added.
In February 2023, the Vande Bharat train was damaged after some thugs pelted rocks at it while it was en route to Dadhapara in Chhattisgarh. Stones smashed the train’s windows, causing extensive damage.
On February 10, 2023, the Vande Bharat Express train, running between Secunderabad and Visakhapatnam was attacked by ‘miscreants’ in Telangana.
On January 20 this year, stones were pelted by unidentified miscreants on New Jalpaiguri-Howarh Vande Bharat Express in Bihar’s Katihar.
On January 2, the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express was damaged only a few days after it began operation when stones were pelted at it in West Bengal’s Malda district.
In December 2022, Stones were thrown at the Vande Bharat Express train (20826) by several unidentified miscreants as it traveled from Nagpur to Bilaspur.
In February 20, 2019, the Vande Bharat train was attacked on its way to Varanasi. Stones were hurled at the express train near Hirangaon railway station February 2018.
Notably, a total of 1,503 cases of stone pelting on moving trains were reported in the year 2022, said Indian Railway. According to Indian Railways, “More than 1,500 incidences of stone-throwing on moving trains had been reported nationwide in 2022 and over 400 persons were arrested for the offense. “The RPF recorded 1,503 incidents of stone-throwing on moving trains during the year, and 488 people were arrested as a result. RPF has organized several awareness campaigns to inform people living close to railroad tracks. More than 100 people carrying explosives or fireworks in trains were also detained during this drive,” Indian Railways stated
Also, under Operation “Rail Suraksha”, RPF took legal action against crime involving railway property. During the year RPF registered 6492 cases of theft of railway property in which recovery of stolen railway property worth Rs. 7.37 Crores was made with the arrest of 11268 offenders.
