India: Violence in Bhopal on gas disaster anniversary

Bhopal, India, Dec 3 (PTI) Observance of the 27th anniversary of the Bhopal gas disaster took a violent turn today with a number of people, including two senior district officials, injured in stone pelting, while protesters indulged in arson here, police said. Collector Nikunj Shrivastava, City Superintendent of Police H N Guru and some women were among those who suffered injuries in stone pelting by protesters who staged a train stoppage in support of various demands of the gas tragedy survivors, police said. Four police jeeps and a dozen motorcycles were set on fire during the agitation, they said. A police jeep and an OB van of a TV news channel were damaged in stone pelting. The agitators resorted to train blockade at Barkhedi, Aishbagh and Chhola Road railway crossings of this central Indian city and squatted on the tracks, disrupting traffic on the busy Delhi-Chennai route. When police asked the protesters to leave, they indulged in stone pelting. Bhopal Divisional Railway Manager Ghanshyam Singh said the traffic was disrupted on the Delhi-Chennai route. Many trains were stranded at the nearby stations of Vidisha, Itarsi and Habibganj due to the agitation. The train stoppage call was given by NGOs working for the rights of the gas affected victims, who are demanding adequate compensation, among other things. PTI