The cases registered by the Railway Police on Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) leaders three years ago, were struck down by the Railway Court on Wednesday.
The East Coast Railway (ECoR) had engaged 260 railway contract workers to undertake sanitation works at Visakhapatnam Railway Station several years ago. In May, 2013, a new railway contractor was appointed in place of the old contractor.
The 260 contract workers, who were not re-engaged, held peaceful protests with the support of CITU, against the contractor and the railway officials seeking their re-appointment, according to CITU Greater Visakha City Committee general secretary M. Jaggu Naidu.
The Railway Police registered cases against the CITU leaders in May 2013 and they were lodged at the Central Jail for 10 days and subsequently released on bail. CITU leaders Jaggu Naidu, RP Raju, VVL Narsimhulu, M. Subba Rao, A. Simhadri, J. Vijaybabu, S. Bhaskara Rao, A. Vinod, D. Srinivasa Rao, R. Bujji and D. Suryanarayana were tried in the Railway Court ever since.
The court struck down the cases as it was revealed during the investigation that the Railway Police could not provide adequate evidence against CITU leaders, according to Mr. Jaggu Naidu.
