Job Aspirants Block Rail Track in Vijayapura After Train Snag

Around 1,000 candidates travelling to Tumakuru and Bengaluru to appear for the police constable recruitment examination were left stranded after their train suffered a technical snag in Vijayapura on Saturday. The Vijayapura-Yeshwantpur train, scheduled to depart at 1:50 p.m., could only leave at 2:35 p.m. and soon developed a locomotive fault near Ibrahimpur.

Angered by the delay, the aspirants blocked the Basava Express coming from the opposite direction and raised slogans against the South Western Railway (SWR). Railway Protection Force personnel tried to pacify the crowd but were unsuccessful. The protesters warned that if they missed the examination, the railway would be held responsible.

SWR officials arranged an alternative locomotive, and the train resumed its journey after a four-hour delay. It was then given priority on the route, reaching Yeshwantpur at 7:10 a.m. on Sunday, over two hours behind schedule. The candidates were allowed to attend the examination.

In a separate incident, the Government Railway Police (GRP) briefly detained the Yeshwantpur-Chandigarh Sampark Kranti Express at Davangere on Saturday evening following a complaint by a Hindutva organisation about suspected Bangladeshi nationals on board. Police inspected the train and verified documents of a woman who was found to be from Uttar Pradesh. No one was detained.