UNREST

Police on rampage at New Cooch Behar Railway Station

 

COOCH BEHAR, May 19: A large contingent of police personnel who came from other districts for performing polling duty in Cooch Behar district started rampage at New Cooch Behar railway station from around 4 p.m. today. They ransacked railway offices including that of the station manager and assaulted the station manager Mr Manmohan Das and an ASM. Mr Das was shifted to the hospital. All railway staff and others fled away from the station premises. The agitated policemen resisted media persons too from entering into the station premises.

 

The situation restored to normalcy when the scheduled Election Special train arrived at about 8-30 p.m.

 

It was learnt that an Election Special train was to come at 1 p.m. to take away the police personnel from Cooch Behar. The policemen were waiting at the station premises since this morning but no train came for them till 4 p.m. They were reportedly not served with food also. At that time the exhausted and hungry policemen got agitated and started ransacking at the station platform. After assault on the station manager and the ASM the other railway personnel got panicky and fled away. Plying of all trains through New Cooch Behar railway station was disrupted following the incident. Senior police officials rushed to the spot but they also had to face the ire of the agitated policemen.

 

Taking an initiative Cooch Behar DM Mr Rajesh Kumar Sinha contacted senior railway officials of NF Railway including the divisional railway manager, Alipurduar and urged them to arrange the scheduled special train as early as possible. The situation turned normal after arrival of the Election Special train at 8-30 p.m., he said. []