MARGAO
Perhaps for the first time since the agitation against track doubling gained momentum after the historic midnight protest at Chandor on November 1-2, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) has invoked provisions of the Railway Act against the protestors in connection with the Wednesday’s incident at Davorlim.
The RPF, Vasco is believed to have booked a case for trespass and obstruction under Section 146 and 147 of the Railway Act.
Meanwhile, perhaps for the first time, the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd has lodged a complaint with the Railway Protection Force (RPF) Inspector at Vasco with a request to register an offense against a group of persons for Wednesday’s incident at Davorlim.
RVNL SE, Avinash G, in his complaint, alleged that the group of persons had threatened labourers and had allegedly snatched crowbars when the work was underway at Davorlim.
The RVNL official has also requested the RPF to provide police protection for the execution of the doubling tracking work.
The complaint stated that the RVNL is executing construction of rail doubling work along the 34-km stretch from Kulem-Margao of South Western Railway.
The complainant stated that during the construction of the rail track in the jurisdiction of Davorlim panchayat, about 15 women and four men, besides activists arrived at the work site where around 22 labourers were engaged in track linking works.
The complaint further stated that these people threatened the contractor labourers engaged in railway work and stopped rail linking work, which was being carried out legally by the laboures. The complaint alleged that the group of persons also removed the rails and dismantled the track linking work and forced the labourers to leave the work site. “The track linking tools, around 10 crowbars were snatched from the workers by these people and emptied 40 litres of anti-corrosive paint from the cans and warned the labourers to go back home”, the complaint stated.
It was further alleged that the track linking tools were taken by these people and is likely to be misused for sabotage work and hence called for the seizure of these tools as possible.
The complaint further alleged that people of this village have deliberately damaged the ongoing work of this track, amounting to loss of Rs five lakh, adding “due to this incident, laboures are in fear and they want protection from the police during the work”.
