Political temperatures are still heated in the wake of the back-to-back stone pelting on Monday and Tuesday at the recently launched Vande Bharat Express connecting Howrah and New Jalpaiguri stations.

On January 2, the first incident occurred at Kumarganj area in Samsi railway station of Malda district when the train was on its way to Howrah. The second occurred on Tuesday on the outskirts of New Jalpaiguri when the train was headed toward the NJP station.

“It is surprising that on Tuesday, stones were pelted near NJP but it came to the notice of railway authorities after the train reached Malda during its return trip to Howrah. Not a single passenger or the onboard RPF personnel had mentioned such an attack when the train reached NJP. We suspect some political element,” said veteran Trinamul leader and Siliguri mayor Gautam Deb.

In a veiled attack on the state’s ruling party, Sukanta Majumdar, the state BJP chief, on Wednesday said that Bengal was supposed to get two more Vande Bharat trains but if the vandalism continued, things could get difficult.

“If the vandalism continues, I wonder if the railways will have to reconsider (two more Vande Bharat trains for Bengal). Why are people pelting stones at the train? They should pelt stones at BDO offices for not getting houses under the PMAY,” he said.

“Whoever conducts the probe must identify the attackers and unearth their motives,” added the state BJP chief.

After Monday’s attack, state Trinamul secretary Kunal Ghosh had said that the BJP had orchestrated it for “political mileage”.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) have taken a number of steps to prevent such incidents.

“The RPF is probing the incidents and complaints have also been filed with GRP. They are working together to identify attackers and have stepped up vigil on the train. The RPF is conducting awareness drives at the locations of such incidents and adjoining areas, covering schools and villages, so that goons desist from acts that affect the safety of train operations,” said an official of Northeast Frontier Railway.

Pelting stones or similar objects at trains is a criminal offence under the Railways Act and the offender can face imprisonment which can extend up to 10 years, the NFR official said.

The intelligence wing of RPF has been activated for constant monitoring of the train, especially between Malda Town and NJP stations.

Since December 30, when the semi-high-speed train service was launched in Howrah, there have been political uproars. In Howrah, chief minister Mamata Banerjee refused to go to the dais after some BJP supporters shouted “Jai Shri Ram” slogans. Trinamul and BJP leaders traded charges on the incident.