CM orders reopening of 2019 CAA protest cases

Kolkata: CM Suvendu Adhikari has ordered the reopening of all cases related to the 2019 CAA protests across Bengal's railway network and directed that financial compensation be extracted directly from those responsible for the damage.The directive came during a meeting at Nabanna on Saturday with Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and senior officials, where Adhikari instructed DGP SN Gupta to review all cases stemming from the 2019 agitation — during which stations were ransacked and trains torched, causing damage worth Rs 93 crore — and to ensure losses are recovered from perpetrators. Officials indicated the order would lead to the reopening of all 2019 protest-related files.Speaking at a programme later, Adhikari recalled the scale of the destruction, particularly in Murshidabad.Railway officials detailed the sequence of events: protests beginning Dec 13 with a stone-pelting attack on the Falaknuma Express near Uluberia; the Beldanga station in Murshidabad torched twice on Dec 15 and 16; five trains set ablaze at Krishnapur station in the Lalgola section; and an RPF team attacked. Despite state laws enabling recovery of compensation from vandals, no such action was taken at the time.Officials cited two legal instruments available: the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Act, 2017, which empowers the state to impose collective compensation from those in the affected area; and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984, under which offenders face up to five years' rigorous imprisonment and mandatory financial penalties for damage to public assets owned by the Centre or state.