Vandals to pay up for damaging Rly property

New Delhi, December 30

Railway property worth Rs 80 crore was damaged during protests across the country against the amended citizenship law and the recovery will be made from those found involved in arson and violence, Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav said on Monday.

“There has been a damage of railway property worth Rs 80 crore during the anti-CAA protests. Of this, the Eastern Railway suffered damage worth Rs 70 crore and the damage suffered by the Northeast Frontier Railway was Rs 10 crore. The damage will be recovered from those found involved in arson and violence. This, however, is a preliminary estimate and the figure could go up after the final analysis,” Yadav said.

In West Bengal, a portion of the ticket counter at the Sankrail railway station was set afire, the Sujnipara railway station vandalised, several trains at the Krishnapur railway station near Lalgola were set ablaze and the Harishchandrapur station in Malda district was vandalised. The railways is expected to recover the losses from those booked in these cases.

Earlier, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had demanded strict action from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee against those who had damaged railway property. “Law and order is a state subject and they are working on it. Recoveries will be made,” Yadav said, refusing to reveal the modalities.

Railway property was vandalised in Assam too, where the Northeast Frontier Railway suffered losses owing to cancellation of trains.

Sources indicated that those found guilty would be charged under Section 151 of the Indian Railway Act, which has a provision of maximum seven years of imprisonment.The Railways, sources said, could also go to court to recover the cost of damage. PTI

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BOX

PM releases Sahguru video backing CAA

Seeking to mobilise support for the amended citizenship law, BJP leaders on Monday launched a campaign on social media to highlight its features with the hashtag of “India Supports CAA”, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi posting a video of spiritual guru Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev backing the legislation.

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Capt: Divisive, won’t implement Act

Terming the CAA as “divisive and dangerous”, Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday reiterated that that his government would not allow its implementation in the state. Urging the people to unite against the “draconian” legislation, he said his party would fight “tooth and nail” against it.

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Amid protests by non-BJP ruled states against CAA, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said on Monday that the states would have to implement the legislation as it had been passed by Parliament. “Under the Constitution, the states have to implement it,” as well as NPR, he said.