No progress in the apprentice protest probe

Mumbai: A fortnight after holding the Mumbai hostage by blocking the local train traffic and pelting stones and injuring a dozen policemen, there has been no progress in the investigation against members of a body representing railway apprentices that organised the strike to press their demands for job reservation. The Government Railway Police (GRP) has neither been able to identify any stone-pelter nor has any action been taken against those who arranged the March 20 agitation.

The law and order machinery had failed despite there being information of such agitation taking place at a Matunga railway workshop. The GRP is now tight-lipped about the probe, in which only two persons were arrested on day one. The GRP, however, has identified Bharat Pardeshi who is suspected to have played an important role and provoked apprentices to protest.

The Dadar GRP had arrested two persons in connection with the incident soon after the violence. The duo was identified as Gokul Lohar, 26, from Jalgaon and Aatish Saav, 22, originally from Bihar.

“We have found names of few more persons and a search is on. Most of them are from Bhusaval and Jalgaon and hence a team of Dadar GRP was sent there to search for 8 to 10 persons but none were found in their homes,” said an officer from Dadar GRP requesting anonymity.

The GRP officials are however tight-lipped about the progress on identifying the political hand in the agitation. A regional party had allegedly held a session with the apprentices and had made provocative speeches.