The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has issued legal notices to twenty leaders of the Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association (GCPA) for their involvement in a railway blockade. The blockade, which occurred on December 11th, 2023, at Jorai Railway Station in West Bengal’s Alipurduar Division, disrupted train services across the northeastern region.
Over 5,000 GCPA agitators, demanding a separate Greater Cooch Behar state, illegally occupied the railway lines, causing significant disruption and financial losses to the NFR. According to NFR’s Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, the blockade resulted in a ₹5.61 crore loss. This led to the issuance of compensation notices through the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Alipurduar, targeting twenty key GCPA leaders who orchestrated the protest. Legal action will be pursued to recover the incurred losses.
The blockade forced the cancellation and diversion of numerous trains, causing significant inconvenience and hardship for passengers. Mr. Sharma emphasized that the agitators’ actions were unauthorized and violated several laws, including endangering passenger safety and trespassing on railway property. Despite repeated attempts by Railway Protection Force, Government Railway Police, and local police to de-escalate the situation using public address systems and loudhailers, the protestors refused to disperse. All actions taken by security personnel, Mr. Sharma stated, were conducted within the bounds of the law.
Mr. Sharma expressed concern that railways are frequently targeted by agitating groups, regardless of whether the group’s demands relate to railway operations. He highlighted the severity of such actions and the significant risks posed to passenger safety. The NFR, he affirmed, is committed to ensuring passenger safety and security and will not tolerate the use of railways as a means to advance illegitimate demands. The NFR operates across the northeastern states, as well as seven districts in West Bengal and five in north Bihar.