Vande Bharat Express, the semi-speed train in India which prime minister Narendra Modi has been inaugurating at various parts of the country on the occasion of 75 years of Independence, has faced unfortunate incidents.
While the one running between Gujarat, Modi's home state, and Maharashtra, have met accidents by hitting cattle on tracks, some others including those operating in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and eastern state of West Bengal have been targeted with stones.
And now, a brand new Vande Bharat, which is waiting to be inaugurated by Modi in the south-eastern state of Andhra Pradesh, has been targeted even before it started its maiden journey.
It has been reported that unidentified people threw stones at a coach of the Vande Bharat Express which is set to be flagged off between Secunderabad and the coastal tourist city of Visakhapatnam on Sunday (15).
The stone-throwing incident happened near Kancharapalem in Visakhapatnam where the train was stationed at the railway yard. The glass-plane of the train was damaged.
The latest train is the eighth of the Vande Bharat trains to be inaugurated and the second in south India, the first being the one connecting Chennai and Mysuru.
The police of Visakhapatnam, along with the Railway Police Force, were investigating the matter.
A local police officer said they were hunting for those who were behind the crime.
Security has been stepped up in the area following the incident, he added.
This photograph taken on April 28, 2026 shows a boy getting "thali", a sacred thread tied to his neck symbolising marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom.Getty Images
This photograph taken on April 29, 2026 shows a member of the transgender community mourning as a priest cuts the "thali", a sacred thread symbolising end of her marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom. Getty Images
