NL Correspondent
Anantnag, May 09
The services on the Banihal-Srinagar railway line were suspended on Wednesday after some miscreants threw stones at a train and inflicted extensive damage to the track as well as the signal system between the Bijbehara and Panzgam stations here.
One boy was injured in the stone-throwing. The police officers, however, confirmed stone-throwing but they refused to ascertain that anyone was injured during the incident. The train services will remain suspended on Thursday.
“We might have to keep the trains suspended on Friday as well. The call in this regard will be taken on Thursday evening, depending on the track's condition,” a senior Railways official told.
As per police sources, the train was stoned by a mob between the Bijbehara and the Panzgam railway stations.
“Stone-throwing was going in the area amid a shutdown against the killing of a local militant, Showkat Tak, who was killed in the Chattabal area of Srinagar a few days ago,” a police source said.
He said the train was immediately halted and suspended for the day.
However, the mob then damaged the railway property, including the track and the signal system installed along the track.
“The bolts of the track have been taken away by the miscreants. The total loss, as we have inspected so far, might be well over Rs 7 lakh,” the Railways official added.
He said some railway employees tried to stop the boys but they were chased away by the miscreants.
The Railways in the recent past have suffered damages during unrest, particularly in south Kashmir, forcing the police to order suspension of the services.
On Wednesday, the train services were resumed after a two-day halt in wake of Tak's killing and the Shopian encounter, wherein five militants and six civilians were killed.
