Kolkata: Passengers of the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express on Tuesday reportedly had a harrowing time as tribal agitators armed with axes, swords, bows and arrows allegedly smashed glass panes of the AC train. They also allegedly opened the doors by force before taking away the drivers at Banstala in West Midnapore district.
"The train had just crossed Jhargram station and was passing through a densely forested patch when a large mob attacked it with stones," passenger Susanta Das said.
"The mob, armed with axes, swords, bows and arrows, smashed the glass panes and forcibly opened the doors as the passengers panicked.
"All of us were asked to get down which we did. We thought they would loot us. But they did not harm anybody after we followed their orders," Das, a wildlife enthusiast who was on his way to Himachal Pradesh to join an expedition, told PTI.
Most of the passengers reportedly thought them to be dacoits. The train, which left Bhubaneswar around 0900 hrs IST, reached Kharagpur at about 1400 hrs IST. The incident occurred about half an hour later, he said.
"Initially, we also did not know that a bandh was on in the area and we also had no idea why the train stopped," Das said, adding the attackers initially appeared to be in a violent mood, but calmed down as the passengers obeyed their orders.
Another passenger Subodh Tripathy said after the train was stopped, the passengers locked themselves in. But the doors were forcibly opened by the agitators.
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