Unable to board train to Mahakumbh, devotees in Bihar pelt it with stones, break windows
A train in Bihar was attacked by devotees frustrated over not being able to travel to Mahakumbh due to overcrowding, leading to broken windows and chaos.
A group of people pelted stones at a train at Madhubani railway station in Bihar, shattering its windows and causing extensive damage. According to India Today, the act of vandalism occurred because devotees travelling to the Mahakumbh were angry that they could not board the already-packed Swatantrata Senani Express.
Eyewitnesses at the station said that the AC coaches of the Swatantrata Senani Express were filled with devotees, preventing doors from opening. Meanwhile, a huge crowd gathered at the station and, failing to board the train, began to attack it.
Footage that has emerged on social media shows how stone pelting shattered a train window and caused it to fall on passengers inside. This led to a heated confrontation between the passengers and the group standing on the platform.
Watch the video below:
According to India Today, leaving Madhubani station in Bihar did not put an end to the chaos. The train was similarly targeted between Madhubani and Darbhanga, where devotees damaged windows from M1 to B5 and A1 of train number 12561.
At Samastipur station, large crowds were seen climbing into the AC coaches through these broken windows.
The attacks drew sharp condemnation on social media. “The person who broke the glass ran away like a coward immediately,” pointed out one social media user. Another said that everyone involved in the incident should have been rounded up and penalised.
“What India needs is law enforcement and CCTV to identify culprits and the bystanders who had a role in vandalism, and to carry out the penalty. When the penalty is always immediate, consistent, and harsh enough, then people will be conditioned against this destructiveness,” an X user opined.
This is not the first instance of devotees travelling to the Mahakumbh attacking trains in frustration. In Madhya Pradesh, a special train travelling from Jhansi to Prayagraj was pelted with stones at Harpalpur station.