PATNA, Oct. 10 -- In a crackdown on stone-pelters targeting moving trains in the state, the Bihar police has arrested 141 people, including 36 minors. Majority of these arrests have been assisted by the CCTV surveillance that the police have installed on the stone-pelting sensitive spots along the rail tracks and also on board trains, said police officers. Stone-pelting on trains, despite some serious incidents, has been a frequent phenomenon witnessed in Bihar. Among the culprits are often youths, even minors, who do it for fun, mischief or even sometimes for making video reels, say police officers who have been part of teams that have cracked down on the menace. The police has put up cameras on the railway bridges and crossings, said a police officer, adding that most of the trains also have cameras attached to their LHB coaches. The video footage captured by these cameras has helped police identify the culprits and led to arrests, said a senior police officer. "In the last eight months, Bihar has recorded 204 stone pelting incidents on high visibility/ high speed trains like Vande Bharat, Rajdhani and Tejas express. In the related police crackdown, 141 people, including 36 minors among them, have been arrested," said additional director general (Rail) Dr Kamal Kishore Singh. During a review by the police headquarters recently, it came to light that 26501 Patliputra-Gorakhpur Vande Bharat express was targeted 13 times, 12423 Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani Express targeted nine times, 22499 Deoghar-Varanasi Vande Bharat seven times and 26302 Danapur-Jogbani Vande Bharat Express targeted six times till August 15 this year. According to the review report, the maximum number of incidents of stone-pelting on trains took place in the April month (38 incidents). Apart from this, maximum cases of stone-pelting have been reported on Thursday (39 incidents) or Saturday-Sunday (33 and 32 incidents). Trains passing through Patna accounted for the highest 77% stone pelting incidents, followed by Muzaffarpur (76%). Katihar recorded 24 incidents while Jamalpur registered 22 incidents. "Stone-pelting not only damages the railway properties like high-quality window panes, it proves gravely injurious to passengers sitting by the windows or standing near the door," said the ADG. He added that large glass windows of premium trains such as Vande Bharat, Rajdhani and Tejas express have been targeted the most by stone-pelters. The ADG said that stone-pelting, damaging rail properties and injuring passengers constitute serious offences under Section 153 and Section 154 of the Railways Act, punishable by imprisonment up to five years and heavy fines. The Bihar police has identified 12 districts as hotspots where stone-pelters have been found to be the most active. These districts are Patna, Bhojpur, Samastipur, Begusarai, Bettiah, Madhubani, Muzaffarpur, Nalanda, Saran, Gaya, Vaishali and Nawada. There are four rail districts in Bihar, including Patna, Muzaffarpur, Katihar and Jamalpur. The Rail ADG has directed the Rail SPs to deploy focused Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) escort and foot patrols on the Patna, Muzaffarpur corridors and launch awareness drive in schools and villages along the high risk rail sections so that youngsters could be made aware of the scale of mischief they indulge in and its punitive consequences for them. "Installation of trackside and on-board cameras at black spots is also on for detection and collecting evidence. CCTV footage had emerged as a key tool in identifying the offenders. Around 68% of the suspects arrested during the drive were identified with the help of cameras installed on trains, including Vande Bharat and Tejas," said a senior Railway police official. Maintaining that the Railways has been expanding surveillance, an RPF officer said that the lack of education and awareness among children living near railway tracks is a major factor behind many stone-pelting incidents. "Many of these children don't go to school and play near railway tracks. Out of mischief, they throw stones, and at times, trains become unintended targets, but it causes serious injuries to people on board," he said....