LUCKNOW: Seven members of Uttar Pradesh football team, including the coach, were attacked with rods and batons and injured grievously by unidentified assailants on board Gwalior-Barunai Express train while it was passing through Deoria district on Tuesday.
According to Railway Police sources, the incident took place near the Bhatparani railway station in Deoria. The football team along with 22 other sportspersons was returning after participating in a three-day inter-state tournament organised in Samastipur district of Bihar. Besides, football, other teams had also gone to participate in the tournament in the neighbouring state.
All the seven injured players, including football coach Vinay Gopal Srivastava, were admitted to Deoria district hospital, a police officer said. According to initial reports, the incident occurred following an affray when some local youths tried to enter the reserved coach in which sportspersons were travelling. As the train slowed down near Bhatparani railway station in Deoria district, some youths tried to enter the coach only to be opposed by the sportspersons. In the melee, a youth managed to enter the compartment and pulled the chain and called his aides who barged into the compartment with rods and sticks. Immediately they charged on the soccer players injuring Srivastava, weightlifter of national fame Anshuman Soni and others badly, said a police officer of Deoria district.
The injured, in serious condition, were rushed to the Deoria district hospital. Others who sustained injuries included Abhishek Prajapati of Kanpur, athlete Bharti Gupta and Rajeev Sharma.
Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel said a case was lodged against unidentified persons and a hunt was on to nab the hoodlums on the basis of the leads given by the footballers.