Stones Hurled at Vande Bharat Express, Windows Shattered Days Before Inauguration; 5 Arrested

Raipur: Five individuals were arrested on Saturday for allegedly vandalising the Vande Bharat Express during its trial run in Chhattisgarh, according to officials.

The train, which was slated to commence service between Durg in Chhattisgarh and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, was scheduled for a grand inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday.

The incident occurred at Bagbahara railway station on Friday morning, as the train was returning from Visakhapatnam. Stones were hurled at the train, causing damage to the multi-layered windows of three of its coaches. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

The accused—Shiv Kumar Baghel, Devendra Kumar, Jeetu Pandey, Sonwani and Arjun Yadav—are alleged to have targeted coaches C2-10, C4-1, and C9-78. A case has been registered against them under the Railways Act, 1989.

In addition to the Durg-Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express, PM Modi will also flag off India’s first Vande Metro service between Bhuj and Ahmedabad, and the first 20-coach Vande Bharat train from Varanasi to Delhi on Monday. New Vande Bharat trains will also be introduced on routes including Tatanagar-Patna, Nagpur-Secunderabad, Kolhapur-Pune, Agra Cantt-Banaras and Pune-Hubballi.