BENGALURU: In yet another incident that highlights the dangerous consequences suffered by passengers due to stone pelting on trains, a 22-year-old engineering graduate from Mysuru lost out on a potential job as she was injured after stones were thrown at her by miscreants near Nayandahalli. Due to the injuries, the victim P R Keerthi could not go for an interview she was scheduled to attend on Saturday.The incident took place on Rajya Rani Express, which left Mysuru railway station at 2.30pm on Friday. As the train crossed Nayanadahalli railway station, miscreants threw stones at the general compartment of the train.
Keerthi was seated near an open window when a sharp stone hit her, injuring her nose and face. The stone narrowly missed her eyes. She alighted at the city railway station around 5 pm with blood streaming down her face. Her relative Vatsala, who was waiting to receive her at the station, complained to officials. Keerthi was then taken to the railway hospital. She later received three stitches on her face.
Keerthi told TNIE, “I never knew such things happen on a train journey. Co-passengers told me that such incidents are common when trains enter the outskirts of Bengaluru.” The Maharaja Institute of Technology student is now devastated about missing her first job interview.
A top Railway Protection Force (RPF) officer said no action could be taken against the perpetrators as no one knows their identity. “The jelly stones on tracks are hurled on trains by drunk boys residing in slums near railway stations,” he said. The RPF has conducted numerous awareness campaigns among them on the dangers it causes, he added. An average of 10 to 15 stone pelting incidents take place in the Bengaluru Railway Division every month.