Chhattisgarh: 5 Arrested For Stone Pelting At Vande Bharat Express, Windows Broken Days Before Flagging Off

The identified suspects were Shiv Kumar Baghel, Devendra Kumar, Jeetu Pandey, Sonwani, and Arjun Yadav, and they faced charges under the Railways Act, of 1989.

Five individuals were arrested for throwing stones at the Vande Bharat Express during its trial run in Chhattisgarh, damaging three coaches.

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Five individuals have been apprehended for allegedly throwing stones at the Vande Bharat Express during its trial run in Chhattisgarh, officials reported. The train, set to operate between the Durg district of Chhattisgarh and the Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh, was scheduled to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.

As per the NDTV report, the stone-pelting incident took place at Bagbahara railway station of Chhattisgarh's Mahasamund district as the train was returning from Visakhapatnam on Friday morning. No injuries were reported, but the windows of three train coaches were damaged during the incident.

The identified suspects were Shiv Kumar Baghel, Devendra Kumar, Jeetu Pandey, Sonwani, and Arjun Yadav, who damaged the windows of coaches C2-10, C4-1, and C9-78, officials said. They face charges under the Railways Act, of 1989.

Inauguration Of Other Vande Bharat Express

In addition to the Durg-Visakhapatnam route, PM Modi is set to flag off several other Vande Bharat trains, including India's first Vande Metro from Bhuj to Ahmedabad and the first 20-coach Vande Bharat train from Varanasi to Delhi. Other routes include Tatanagar to Patna, Nagpur to Secunderabad, Kolhapur to Pune, Agra Cantt to Banaras, and Pune to Hubballi.

Recently, on September 1, the new Chennai-Nagercoil Vande Bharat Express, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually flagged off, will help passengers travel from Chennai to Nagercoil in less than 9 hours. The train is likely to provide the fastest rail connection to Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India, and promises to enhance connectivity to key industrial, business, and tourist hubs in Tamil Nadu, including Trichy, Madurai, Dindigul, and Tirunelveli.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw revealed the prototype of the Vande Bharat sleeper coach at BEML's facility in Bengaluru. He stated that the new coaches will undergo extensive trials and testing before being put on the tracks for further evaluation. The train is likely to be ready for passenger service within the next three months.