Ruling Samajwadi Party MLA Nahid Hasan is among two thousand people booked by Railway Protection Force (RPF) for allegedly damaging rail property and disrupting services during a violent protest on Saturday at Kandhla railway station in neighbouring Shamli district. The protest was against the alleged assault on five members of the Tablighi Jamaat by some youths on board a Delhi-Kandhla train on May 1. The mob had also laid a siege to a police station, pelted stones and set afire vehicles. 16 policemen were injured in the violence. Assistant Commissioner of RPF P.K. Pandey told reporters on Monday that two thousand people have been booked under Section 174 of Railway Act for the violence while 12 persons have been named including SP legislator Nahid Hasan and chairman of Kandhla nagar panchayat Haji Balu Hasan. He said the protesters had turned violent, disrupting train services and damaging railway property at Kandhla railway station. Meanwhile, in view of the alleged assault on the members of the community onboard a train on Delhi-Saharanpur rout, security has been tightened on the trains. Inspector General of Government Railway Police Dawa Sherpa told reporters that police and RPF personnel in plain clothes have been deployed following the incident. Meanwhile, a delegation of Jamiat Ulema-I-Hind met senior railway officials and sought adequate security on trains on the route and immediate arrest of culprits in the assault case. He was assured that the accused will be arrested soon. The incidents had triggered tension in the district. Muzaffarnagar and surrounding districts including Shamli in western Uttar Pradesh were rocked by communal riots in September 2013 which had left over 60 people dead and displaced thousands of others.
