Army orders probe into clash on NE Exp

THE ARMY ordered a court of inquiry into Sunday’s incident on board the NE Express in which four defence personnel and a CRPF jawan were injured in a clash with students at Chheoki on the outskirts of the city under Naini police station. The injured were shifted to the Military Hospital from Beli Hospital this morning. Some of the students who were also injured in the incident, either left for their destinations or their whereabouts could not be known. The court of inquiry was ordered by the sub area commander, according to the defence PRO.

The CRPF jawan would be handed over to his unit after he got well while the four armymen would have to stay back as long as the inquiry lasted, added the PRO.

Nearly 11,000 students from various States had come to take the Railway Board Recruitment Examination yesterday. In the evening they boarded different trains for return journey. About 500 students boarded the NE Express. Trouble began when a group of students were stopped from entering a general compartment which was occupied by some army personnel and lead to a scuffle.

The train started but was stopped at Cheoki station by the agitated students who came out of the train and started pelting stones on the compartment.

Meanwhile, someone spread the rumour that some students had been held captive by the army men inside the compartment. This further agitated the students and they broke open the door of the compartment, dragged out the jawans and beat them up.

A railway official said that another rumour was spread that some students had been thrown off the running train by the jawans. On hearing this the students went berserk.

Railway CPRO Bagish Pandey described as false reports that a passenger was still missing. The passenger in question had been made to board the train by the GRP, he said.