5 held for 'recreating' attack on railway tracks in Bengal

The police has arrested five persons when they were trying to recreate a scene of attack wearing skullcaps and lungis in an empty train in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, where railway stations and trains were torched in protest against the amended citizenship law.

The accused pelted stones on a train on trial run near Lalbagh railway station and videorecorded the purported "attack", a senior police officer said on Saturday.

"Local people caught the accused and handed them over to us. Subsequently, they have been arrested," he said.

The accused were locally known as activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students wing of RSS.

 

A case has been initiated against the accused for allegedly being involved in damaging railway property.

"They were produced before a court on Friday. Two of them were remanded to police custody, while the other three were sent to judicial custody," the police officer said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on Thursday claimed that she had received inputs that the BJP is allegedly buying skullcaps for its cadres, who are wearing them while vandalising public properties to malign a particular community.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told a poll rally in Jharkhand that, "People who are setting fire (to property) can be seen on TV... They can be identified by the clothes they are wearing."

The state had witnessed violence and arson from December 13 to 17 during protests against the new citizenship law.

Agitators attacked Railway properties in many districts and vandalised them during the protests against the amended Citizenship Act in the state.

The Beldanga railway station complex in Murshidabad district was set on fire and RPF personnel who were deputed there were thrashed by protesters, while a number of compartments of an empty train were set on fire at Krishnapur in the district. A portion of the Sankrail railway station complex in Howrah district was set ablaze during protests against the amended citizenship law.