Vanniyar reservation: PMK cadre pelting stones at train saved by loco pilot, assistant

Chennai

A major disaster was avert-ed, courtesy the smart  work of  loco pilot KM  Pandian and his assistant  Kannan who had applied the emergency brakes after spotting the mob on the track. Railway sources revealed that the wind-shield and headlight of the locomotive was damaged due to the stone pelting incident. The train resumed its journey after railway police cleared the tracks around 7.55 pm.

A railway officer who saw the footage of the rail roko described the incident as a close shave and said the locomotive was in motion even a few feet ahead of the workers. “Even if someone had stumbled on the track or the locomotive stopped a few paces later, there could have an undesirable incident. Such reckless  people  don’t realize the seriousness. Train is not like a bus or car. It cannot be stopped abruptly,” he added.

Political commentators  also condemned the violence during the protest. “Though PMK has the right to  protest demanding exclusive reservation for Vanniyars, use of violence is severely condemnable and the state should take stringent action against the protesters. Damage to public properties  cannot be agreed upon in any protest,” political critic Raveenthran Duraisamy, told DT Next.

As the PMK protesters tried to enter Chennai they were blocked at the out-skirts of Chennai resulting in altercation, road roko and stone pelting on trains and public properties in which  there was damages. Railway police and Railway Protection Force had filed two separate cases on 350 PMK cadre for damaging trains. Meanwhile, the hashtag #socialjustice4vanniyar trended in social media right from  the morning and there were many who criticised the protests for its violence.