Rlys mulling Rs 100 crore legal suit against state over damages to property

Kolkata: The Indian Railways is mulling to file a legal suit of Rs 100 crore against the state government, in the wake of recent violence in parts of Bengal causing damages to railway property.

In the past two days, several areas in Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, Howrah, South 24-Parganas and North 24-Parganas became tense as unruly mobs started damaging public properties during alleged protests against National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The worst affected railway stations were Sankrail and Uluberia. The Indian Railways have alleged that the state government did not deploy RPF to control the mobs.

According to sources, the Eastern Railway has incurred loss of property to the tune of approximately Rs 70 crore, while South Eastern Railway has incurred loss of property to the tune of approximately Rs 16 crore.

It might be mentioned that state police have arrested 354 persons in connection with the incidents of violence.

According to sources, all the Superintendents of Police (SP) across the state have been instructed to take stringent action against those who are obstructing normal traffic movement and are damaging public properties.

The state government later issued an order to suspend internet connection in some districts, in a bid to stop people from spreading rumors and inciting further violence.

On Sunday, Kolkata Police Commissioner Anuj Sharma had passed an order instructing police officers of all ranks not to take leave until further order. The step has been taken in view of the heavy law and order commitments.