The Government Railway Police (GRP) here registered cases against more than 150 persons in connection with the incident of blocking and detention of the Bengaluru - Karaikal passenger train during the pro-jallikattu protests in the city.
A group of students blocked the train near Periyar bridge on January 19 and continued the blockade till the early hours of Monday (January 23), when the City Police and the commandos of the Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF) personnel retrieved the same. More than 80 RPSF personnel had come down from Chennai for this specific task.
Meanwhile, during these days some had damaged the diesel locomotive and also the windows, toilets, seats and bulbs inside the locked compartments.
The railway sources said that the loco (diesel engine) suffered damages to the tune of Rs. 20 lakh and the 16 compartments to the tune of Rs. 48 lakh.
According to sources here, as a large number of local youth were involved in the incident, the GRP with its limited resources is finding it difficult to move ahead in the investigation. As such, the city police is likely to be entrusted with the investigation work. The Railway Police has already approached the city police in this regard and the case is likely to be transferred to the Shevvapettai Police Station shortly.
The sources said that all effective steps have been taken, incuding monitoring the CCTV cameras that were functioning in the vicinity of Periyar bridge where the train was detained for four days, to identify the miscreants who were involved in damaging the train.
