Jat quota row intensifies: Protesters vandalise railway station, burn train engine

Bharatpur: A mob on Tuesday vandalised a railway station and set ablaze a goods train engine in the district where normal life remained affected for the second consecutive day due to the Jat quota stir. [caption id=“attachment_2639262” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] Police fired in the air and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse mobs at two places. “Firing in the air was done at two places including one at Ucchain area on National Highway 11 where a large number of protesters had gathered. “An engine of a stranded goods train was set on fire and damaged by the protesters near Helak station whereas Paprera railway station was also vandalised in a separate incident,” IG Bharatpur Alok Vashistha said. He said that police contingents were rushed to different places in the district to disperse the agitators. DGP Manoj Bhatt said in Jaipur that the situation is under control in Bharatpur. Bharatpur district collector Ravi Jain said that the agitators burnt the ticket counter and station master’s cabin at Paprera railway station and looted around Rs 5000 from the ticket counter. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC were imposed by the collector yesterday after the members of the Jat community extended their support to the ongoing reservation stir in Haryana and blocked highways and railway in the district. State Social Justice Minister Arun Chaturvedi and Tourism Minister Krishnendra Kaur had held a meeting with the leaders of the agitators last night but it failed to yield any results. Normal life in the district remained affected due to the agitation and police and district administration officials are monitoring the situation. PTI