11 arrested for Bihar train arson

Eleven men have been arrested for their involvement in setting a train on fire in Bihar last month following an altercation between students and railway personnel, police said on Sunday.

The 11 were arrested after they were identified through video clippings provided by television news channels as being part of the group that torched the Shramjivi Express Aug 18 following a row with Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, said Deputy Inspector General (Railway Police) Arvind Pandey.

So far, 26 people have been identified through video clippings as being part of the mob.

Ten days after the incident, the Railway Police had arrested Faiz Ahmad alias Chand, one of the 26 culprits identified.

On Aug 18, a group of students had a heated argument with railway personnel after they were found travelling without tickets. Following this, the angry mob pelted stones and set fire to two air-conditioned coaches of the train at Bihta railway station, about 30 km from here.

The fire spread to two other air conditioned coaches as well though no one was injured in the incident.

The four coaches that were burnt were worth Rs 3.5 crore (Rs.35 million) as each AC coach costs a minimum of Rs 75 lakh, a railway official said. Both the state government and the railway police have launched a probe into the incident. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had asked the police to take stern action against the culprits.

In view of the incident, the police have decided to set up a separate control room for the government railway police and the RPF.

Railway sources said that the Bihta incident is the second in three months where students burnt train coaches to vent their anger. In June, students had burnt four coaches of two trains at Khusrupur, 32 km from Patna.