Stone-pelting crisis

The increasing frequency of stone-pelting incidents on trains in Kerala has sparked significant concern among passengers. In a recent harrowing event, a student named Aishwarya sustained serious injuries after a stone was hurled at the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express between Kadalundi and Feroke. Aishwarya, a 22-year-old first-year Bioinformatics student at UC College, Aluva, was travelling home to Vadakara, Kozhikode. She had decided to make the trip after a gas shortage at her residence in Aluva made it difficult to prepare food. The incident occurred around 9:30 PM on Monday; the impact of the stone split her lower right lip, fractured her jaw, and knocked out two of her teeth. Doctors have stated that additional teeth loosened by the impact will also need to be removed. The road to recovery will be difficult and costly, with her surgery estimated to cost approximately two lakh rupees.

This is not a new phenomenon in Kerala; numerous passengers have been injured by stone-pelting incidents on several occasions. Recently, the Vande Bharat Express was targeted near Nedumbassery. When the police apprehended the 18-year-old suspect using CCTV footage, he offered a bizarre justification: he claimed he threw the stones due to "love failure."

Similar dangerous acts, such as placing stones on railway tracks, have also been reported in Kochi and Malappuram. Unfortunately, in many of these cases, the perpetrators remain at large. Such actions are often committed by individuals with serious mental health issues or a severe lack of social responsibility. The belief that they can strike and disappear into the darkness without being caught encourages the repetition of these anti-social acts. Furthermore, police investigations have revealed that even minors are frequently involved in these incidents.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) and local police must ensure that anyone who throws stones at a train is apprehended within twenty-four hours. Furthermore, the financial costs for damages to railway property and injuries to passengers should be recovered from the family of the accused.

Existing laws already prescribe severe penalties for such offences. Perpetrators are typically charged under Sections 152 and 154 of the Railways Act, which carry potential sentences ranging from ten years to life imprisonment. However, a significant legal challenge remains: when the offender is a minor, the current system often focuses on counselling and rehabilitation rather than strict punitive measures, often leading to their release.

The perpetrators of stone-pelting incidents in Kerala also include individuals from other states, highlighting a widespread issue. Nationally, between last July and December, 1,698 cases of stone-pelting at trains were registered across India, resulting in 665 arrests. However, since more than half of the accused remain at large, the lack of deterrence makes these incidents likely to recur.

To combat this, surveillance must be intensified by installing a maximum number of CCTV cameras in high-frequency areas. Furthermore, local residents and the general public can play a vital role in apprehending suspects. To facilitate this, railway authorities should take the initiative to form vigilance committees in residential areas adjacent to railway tracks. With over one million people relying on train services in Kerala every day, their safety must be treated as a top priority.