Visakhapatnam: Miscreants hurling stones on VBE cannot go scot-free

Visakhapatnam: Miscreants hurling stones at Vande Bharat Express (VBE) cannot go scot-free as high-end cams inside and outside the coaches of the prestigious train keeps a hawk's eye on them. The frequent stone pelting incidents on VBE has become a cause for concern for the railway authorities. In less than a month, another stone pelting incident damaged an emergency window glass of the VBE coach at Khammam. Earlier, on January 11, glass panes of two coaches of the Vande Bharat were broken as miscreants pelted stones on them while it was heading towards the coach maintenance centre at Marripalem.

Even as three persons involved in the stone pelting incident were caught with the help of the CCTV footage, a similar incident recurred within a month. In a step to place a check on the repeated incidents of stone pelting on VBE, the railway is considering multiple interventions.

"We have identified vulnerable points where there is a larger scope for stone pelting and cattle crossing incidents. There are 40 such locations between Vijayawada and Secunderabad and also Duvvada. As a part of the multiple interventions, village heads, sarpanches are being contacted at regular intervals and awareness campaigns are taken where they can in turn educate the locals to refrain from stone pelting in their respective area. In most cases, miscreants derive fun in stone pelting without understanding the implication of the offence committed," shares Raja Ram, IG of RPF, South Central Railway with The Hans India.

Exercising caution, the railway officials assert that those involved in stone pelting cannot get away with the offence. "In addition to a good number of high-end CCTV cameras installed inside the coaches for security reasons, VBE is also equipped with cams outside the coaches. They give us the picture of the person hurling the stone. The footage comes in handy in zeroing in on the culprits," explains the IG.

Although such incidents are not fatal, RPF officials express worry that in some cases, they might lead to severe injuries. In a step to prevent cattle hits, the authorities initiated fencing in some of the track stretches of the Western Railways. They are expected to be wrapped in about five months or so.