SC/ST dilution: Delhi's train services disrupted, protesters squat on tracks
Protesters squatted on tracks in several places outside Delhi, stopping trains, including the Dehradun Express and the Ranchi Rajdhani, to enforce an all India shutdown against the dilution of the SC/ST Act, officials said on Monday. Services were disrupted when a mob arrived at the Ghaziabad yard around 10 am, Northern Railway officials said. Police forces are trying to get people off the tracks.
Around 2,000 people disrupted trains at Hapur station too
Many trains, such as Saptakranti Express, Utkal Express, the Bhubaneswar and Ranchi Rajdhani, and others were stopped ahead of Ghaziabad in Meerut and Modinagar, officials said. A mob of about 2,000 people disrupted trains at the Hapur station as well, disrupting the movement of many goods trains. Delhi Police and Railway Protection Force personnel have been working to remove the people from tracks.
SC earlier diluted the provisions of the Act
Several Dalit organizations have called for a "Bharat bandh" today to express their concerns over the "dilution" of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes Act. The Supreme Court on March 20 diluted the provisions of the Act and said government servants should not be arrested without prior sanction and private citizens, too, should be arrested only after an inquiry under the law.
