The stone-pelting of a Vande Bharat Express did not happen in West Bengal, but in Bihar, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday.
Two consecutive incidents of stone-pelting were reported this week, after the Prime Minister flagged off the train in the state via video conferencing last week.
A railway spokesperson, meanwhile, added that stone pelters have been identified and action has been initiated.
While the BJP leaders in the state have been vocal about the incident throughout the week, on Thursday it was the chief minister’s turn to offer a counter response.
Speaking at Gangasagar, Banerjee said that a section of television media have tarnished the state’s image, and in turn have offered a wrong message to people, disseminating fake news. Banerjee condemned those who have insulted Bengal, and said that a solution will be found to get rid of the fake news.
“This (vandalism) did not happen in Bengal, this happened in Bihar,” she said, adding that the people of the neighbouring state may have been angry. “However, if a few people are upset about the democracy, that doesn’t mean we can insult the entire state of Bihar,” she said, adding that they too deserve a Vande Bharat Express, and just because the BJP is not in power doesn’t mean that they will not have one.
The chief minister alleged that the Vande Bharat is a newly painted old train, with the addition of a new engine. “Many old trains (rakes) have been withdrawn. During my tenure, I used to offer 100 new trains in a year. And, in eleven years, not even one new train has been introduced, except for this one,” she said.
A press release shared by Eastern Railway’s spokesperson stated that the railway protection force has “made an in-depth investigation along with the state GRP and state police on the incident of pelting of stones on Vande Bharat Express enroute.”
The railway further stated that based on visuals taken from the CCTV camera fitted with the Howrah-New Jalpaiguri train rake, the “Railway (has) already identified stone pelters in video, initiatives have been taken to pinpoint the pelters and suitable action is being taken for conducting legal and penal proceedings against the offenders”. The state police and authorities are being advised, accordingly, to apprehend the offenders and initiate legal proceedings, it added.