Central, Harbour line trains disrupted

Services on the Central Railway's main line and Harbour line were disrupted for a while on Saturday as protesters thronged CST.

Protesters shouting slogans arrived in large groups at CST in suburban trains. After the violence at Azad Maidan erupted, groups of protesters ran inside CST, scaring others, said a commuter.

Though no official complaint was lodged, some commuters said people pelted stones on trains between Sandhurst Road and Masjid stations.

A total of 38 services on the main line and 45 on the Harbour line were cancelled till 9 pm. Authorities expected the number of cancelled services to increase to 95-100 by the end of the day.

"Seeing the mob of protesters, scared motormen left the trains. As a result, trains were not running for about half-an-hour between 4 and 5 pm. Gradually, we took control of the situation," said a Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable.

After the incident, CR provided protection to motormen for some services to Dadar and Wadala Road. Around 1,000 personnel from the RPF, Government Railway Police (GRP) and home guards were deployed. Two protesters stood at the station holding placards saying, 'Maintain silence. Islam does not teach violence.'

"Fortunately, 30 police personnel were already stationed at CST and we could deploy them immediately. The situation was brought under control soon and there was no damage to the property," said Alok Bohra, senior divisional security commissioner, RPF (CR).

Though the station was not vandalised, protesters broke tubelights in the subway outside the station. A few BEST buses were also damaged.

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