MUMBAI: Shriram Joshi and his friend Anand Kamalpurkar left for New Delhi by Rajdhani Express on September 7.
Both were travelling to the capital on business. But trouble struck when the train reached Faridabad station. Hundreds of people began pelting the Rajdhani with stones.
The stone pelters were local residents, who were furious that local trains to and from Faridabad, which were already running 2-and-a-half hours late, were made to wait while the Rajdhani was allowed to go ahead.
Talking to DNA from Faridabad, Joshi, a Dombivali-based businessman said, “All passengers got the shock of their lives when stones were thrown at the train from all directions as it pulled in Faridabad station at 8:45am.”
Joshi, who was travelling in coach AS7 was terrified to see the mob and frantically tried to call the Delhi police control room from his cellphone. “I was even more shocked when the policeman advised me to get out of the train and contact the Railway police. The response from the control room was disgusting,” he said.
Passengers began getting off the train and running for their lives as the pelting intensified. There was no police to control the mob. Passengers took shelter under berths and in toilets to avoid injuries.
Joshi said that after some time, a few people from the platform stormed into the train and forced the passengers out.
“They asked us to leave the train as they wanted to set it ablaze. The situation was so terrifying that all the passengers in the coach immediately ran out,” Joshi said. Most train passengers took a bus to New Delhi and safety.
