Patna: In a brazen display of lawlessness, suspected liquor smugglers brought the Gurumukhi Express to a standstill on Sunday night by pulling the emergency chain between Rajendra Nagar and Gulzarbagh stations in Patna, before pelting stones at passengers and railway staff who tried to intervene.
The smugglers, believed to be operating in groups of up to ten, reportedly halted the train under the cover of darkness and began unloading sacks suspected to be filled with illicit liquor. Eyewitnesses told police that passengers raised an alarm upon noticing the operation, sparking a heated confrontation on board the stationary train.
As the train resumed its journey, the smugglers, now positioned on both sides of the track, retaliated by hurling stones at the moving carriages, shattering windows, including those of the AC coaches. Startled passengers were left ducking for cover as shards of glass rained inside.
The incident triggered a swift response from the Rajendra Nagar railway police, who, upon reaching the site, found the tracks littered with broken glass. CCTV footage retrieved from a nearby hostel captured five individuals pelting stones at the departing train, although their faces remained indistinct in the grainy recording.
A case has been registered and authorities are working to identify the culprits.
The latest incident comes barely a month after a similar episode near Sipara Gumti, under Parsa railway station limits, where a group of 15 to 20 smugglers halted a train to offload liquor. When confronted by the police force deployed in the train, the smugglers attacked them with stones, abandoning 198 litres of liquor at the site. Nine men were later arrested and remanded to judicial custody.
The recurrence of such incidents along this stretch has reignited concerns over the emboldened activities of liquor smuggling syndicates in dry Bihar, where prohibition has driven the trade underground, yet visibly rampant.
