RailEnquiry

The followers of Asaram Bapu forcibly stopped the Suryanagri and Shatabdi Express trains near Uttaran station in Surat on Monday evening, protesting his arrest in a sexual assault case. The police rushed to the spot and later, the trains continued their onward journey.

The self-styled godman's followers gathered at Manisha railway culvert and rolled out a red-coloured sheet on the railway tracks to stop trains. They carried banners and posters of Asaram and raised slogans in his favour. The Suryanagari train to Ahmedabad was the first one to be stopped and even after the driver's repeated requests, Asaram's supporters did not leave the tracks. The Shatabdi Express, on its way to Mumbai, was then seen coming on the other track and the supporters tried to stop it too. Both the trains halted for half-an-hour. The drivers called Surat GRP and RPF police, and the staff from Amroli police station was sent to the spot. Seeing policemen, the protesters fled the spot. Surat Railway GRP and RPF also rushed to location with reinforcement.

Surat Railway GRP PI P S Vadvi said, "Hundreds of supporters of Asaram stopped Suryanagri and Shatabdi trains near Uttaran railway station. When we reached, they fled, leaving banners on the tracks. We have not made any arrest."