The passengers reportedly got agitated and started throwing stones at other trains.
The special train was launched by the Railways for the upcoming festival of Chhath Puja, which is mainly celebrated in Bihar, Jharkhand and some parts of Uttar Pradesh.
Hundreds of passengers waiting at Fatehgarh Sahib’s Sirhind station vandalised the railway station after a ‘Chhath’ special train scheduled to travel to Bihar was cancelled.
The Northern Railways said that the “connecting rake got delayed and train was putback” at 3 in the morning. “Regular announcements were made at the station,” it added.
The special train was launched by the Railways for the upcoming festival of Chhath Puja, which is mainly celebrated in Bihar, Jharkhand and some parts of Uttar Pradesh.
Since residents of these states, who work in other parts of India, go home for the festival, the Railways had started a few special trains from select locations to facilitate easy journey, avoid unreserved and train roof-travelling.
Among these special trains was the one from Punjab’s Sirhind to Bihar’s Katihar, which was scheduled to leave on Tuesday.
“Irate passengers reportedly pelted stones at Sirhind Railway Station after a special train from Punjab to Bihar’s Katihar was cancelled earlier today,” news agency PTI posted on X on Tuesday.
VIDEO | Irate passengers reportedly pelted stones at Sirhind Railway Station after a special train from Punjab to Bihar’s Katihar was cancelled earlier today. pic.twitter.com/0nfVq07nWi— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 14, 2023
The video shows hundreds of travellers gathered on the platform and the railway tracks. They picked up stones and threw them on the railway police and some parked passenger trains.
The passengers reportedly got agitated and started throwing stones at other trains.
The incident comes three days after a 40-year-old man died and two hospitalised, following the chaos that occurred when passengers were boarding a Bihar-bound special train for Chhath at Surat railway station in Gujarat.
Passengers rushed to board the Tapti Ganga Express train from Surat railway station in the morning, causing chaos in which some people fainted, Superintendent of Police (Western Railway) Sarjo Kumari said.
There was a huge rush at the railway station, because of which some passengers suffered panic attacks and dizziness, she said.
One of the passengers suffered a heart complication, and a policeman present on the platform performed CPR on him before he was rushed to a hospital in an ambulance, the official said. Authorities have identified the victim as Ankit Virendra Singh.