That video of Mob pelting stones on local train is old.

Passengers at Diva station said the lathicharge by the police in response to the protests made things take a violent turn; they asserted that the demonstrations were peaceful

The complete breakdown of law and order at the suburban Diva railway station could have been avoided that, at least, is what eyewitnesses are claiming. People at the station said that the crowd couldn’t take it any more when, on top of suffering due to the delay, police began a lathicharge.

Furious commuters at Diva staged a rail roko after a pantograph of a CST-bound local train broke, delaying services early in the morning. According to locals, commuters had indeed blocked the railway lines, but were protesting peacefully. Things took a turn for the worse when 10-odd officials from the Railway Protection Force allegedly resorted to a lathicharge to disperse the crowds.

Ramdas Kedari, a local resident, recalled, “The crowd was under control after members of the Diva commuters’ union urged them to maintain peace. However, RPF officials started hitting a few people and this fuelled the entire incident. This is the treatment we get, on top of the shoddy service. The railways have always ignored the plight of the people from Kalwa, Mumbra and Diva.”

“We were standing on the tracks listening to the commuters’ union. However, the RPF officials suddenly started hitting people, irrespective of their gender and age. This angered the crowd and people started pelting stones on the train and damaged the railway property,” said Sunil Waghmare, another commuter.

Adesh Bhagat, president of the commuters’ body, Diva Railway Pravasi Sanghatna, concurred, “The plight of commuters from Mumbra and Diva has been ignored for many years. The railways conduct mega blocks every week, but this doesn’t reflect in the services. Technical failures on this stretch are frequent. Hence, commuters were upset and staged a protest.”