Four persons were killed and nine injured on Saturday night after being thrown off a Guwahati-bound train carrying northeastern people fleeing from Bangalore.
The incident took place in an unreserved compartment when the train was at Belacoba, about 30 km west of Siliguri. Two bodies were found on the tracks near Belacoba and two near Falakata, about 60 km further away.
“Four bodies were found. Nine people have been admitted to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. We are unable to comment any further,” said Saugata Sen, superintendent of Jalpaiguri police.
According to North East Frontier Railway spokesperson S Hajong, eight of the injured were from Assam and one from West Bengal’s Malda district.
“We had boarded an unreserved compartment. There were no RPF personnel in it,” said one of the injured at the hospital before police cut off the media’s access to them. The victims are reportedly residents of Hailakandi district of Assam.
Villagers on Sunday blocked train tracks near Belacoba for over two hours in protest. They were under the impression that it was an act of dacoity.