Northeast Frontier Railway Serves Notices to 20 GCPA Leaders for Disruption of Train Services

Guwahati, Jan 4 (NationPress) The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has filed legal notices against 20 leaders from the Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association (GCPA) for their involvement in blocking train services at Jorai Railway Station, located in the Alipurduar Division of West Bengal, on December 11 of the prior year, as reported by officials on Saturday.

In their demand for a separate Greater Cooch Behar state, over 5,000 protestors obstructed the railway tracks at Jorai Railway Station, effectively severing the entire northeastern region from the rest of the nation via the railway network. The GCPA has been leading this agitation for several years.

NFR’s Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma stated that this enforced rail blockade resulted in a financial setback for the railways amounting to Rs 5.61 crore. "Due to the financial damages incurred from this blockade, the Railways has initiated a compensation notice through the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Alipurduar, directed at the 20 GCPA leaders who were pivotal in the agitation on December 11 last year. Legal action will be pursued to recoup these losses," he elaborated.

Sharma further indicated that as a consequence of the rail blockade, numerous trains were cancelled, and several others were rerouted. Passengers faced significant hardships due to these disruptions, he noted.

The CPRO also highlighted that the protestors caused disturbances and obstructed the functioning of the railway system, asserting that the blockade was entirely unauthorized and that the agitators infringed upon numerous legal provisions by impeding train operations, jeopardizing passenger safety, and trespassing onto railway premises.

On-duty personnel from the Railway Protection Force, the Government Railway Police, and local law enforcement made several attempts to disperse the protestors using public address systems and loudhailers, instructing them to cease their obstruction of the railway tracks. Nonetheless, the protestors refused to end their blockade. All actions taken by the security personnel were executed in accordance with the law, the official stated.

Sharma remarked that railways are often perceived as an easy target for various protest groups, despite the fact that their demands have no direct relation to railway operations. The violations committed by these groups are quite serious and pose significant risks to passenger safety, he emphasized.

The CPRO affirmed that the railways are committed to maintaining the trust of their passengers regarding safety and security and will not encourage such groups to view railways as a convenient target for their illegitimate demands.

The NFR operates across the northeastern states and within seven districts of West Bengal and five districts of northern Bihar.