Chennai: Youth wielding weapons in local train create panic

A group of college students got off a suburban train carrying sharp knives at Pattaravakkam railway station sending shock waves among passengers.
One of the passengers alerted railway police who rushed to the spot, but then the students managed to escape.
One of the passengers alerted railway police who rushed to the spot, but then the students managed to escape.

CHENNAI: A group of college students got off a suburban train carrying sharp knives at Pattaravakkam railway station on Tuesday sending shock waves among passengers. This is yet another incident of college students indulging in the act.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) arrested a Pachaiyappa’s College student and launched a hunt for a few more for carrying knives in the train, chasing students from Presidency College and causing panic at the station.

Students from Pachaiyappa’s and Presidency Colleges were travelling in the Arakkonam-bound EMU when a fight broke out as the train was between Ambattur and Pattaravakkam. “After the train stopped at Pattaravakkam, a group of students ran with their knives targeting students of Presidency College,” said a GRP source.

A video shot by one of the passengers showed a group of college boys with their backpacks with long sharp weapons getting off the train and running. Passengers, including women,  were also running helter-skelter to escape from the students.

One of the passengers alerted railway police who rushed to the spot, but then the students managed to escape. However, railway police sought help from city police to trace the suspect. However, in the melee, three students Jagadeesan (18) and R Dinesh Kumar (19), both from Presidency College and Vijay (18) all from Tiruvallur and nearby areas sustained injuries.  

Later, GRP, Perambur, arrested a student Mohan Ragupathy (18), studying first year in  Pachaiyappas College. The students had reportedly told police there was a clash between the students of both colleges over establishing their supremacy on the train route. “To scare the other students, they had carried the weapons,” the students had told police.

It may be noted that in October, a video of students wielding sickles and knives travelling on the footboard of a suburban train went viral. They were nabbed and authorities claimed that security had been tightened at all railway stations.

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