Wave of Stone Pelting on Trains in Kerala: 60 Cases in 20 Months, Vande Bharat Express Frequently Targeted

In the span of 20 months, there have been a total of 60 reported cases of stone pelting on trains, specifically within the Palakkad division. Out of these incidents, 32 occurred in the year 2022, and the remaining 28 incidents were reported this year. The primary target of these attacks has been Kerala’s Vande Bharat Express, mainly in areas like Tirur, Kannur, Valapattanam, and Chottanikkara.

Records indicate that there were 15 instances of stone pelting in 2015 and 17 more in 2016. Notably, during 2022, some incidents resulted in injuries to passengers as stones hit their heads. The attacks also resulted in damage to train windows, including those of the locomotive cabin.

For instance, on September 11, 2022, a young girl named Keerthana Rajesh, a seventh-grader, sustained a head injury from a pelted stone while traveling on the Thiruvananthapuram Express (16348). She had to receive two layers of stitches before continuing her journey on another train.

In a similar incident, just last month, P Abhiram from Kasaragod was on his way to Mangaluru College when he suffered a severe leg injury due to another stone-pelting attack on the Chennai-Mangaluru Mail (12601). This particular incident occurred in Kottikkulam.