Mob attacks 2 trains in Bihar

On Tuesday Railway property worth 3.5 crores turned to dust within hours. The reason: About 50 students from rural colleges of Bihar.

They had boarded the New Delhi-Rajgir Shramjeevi Express. Students with passes are allowed to travel in unreserved coaches of long-distance trains.

One student, however, entered an AC coach and refused to budge

He was beaten up by the government Railway Police. Enraged students stopped the train and set four AC coaches on fire. The passengers somehow escaped.

Rinku, a passenger, said: "This group of boys chased some cops who eventually hid in a train bogey. After that these boys ravaged the trains, smashed glasses and set the AC bogies on fire."

Kshatraneel Singh, Superintendent of Police, Patna (Rural) adds: ''The situation is under control now. The burnt bogies have been removed and the fire has been put off."

The same morning at Lakhisarai a mob blockaded the railway station over the murder of a 25-year-old railway employee.

Superintendent of Police Bibek Raj Singh details the incident: ''We are trying to arrest those responsible for the murder.''

Last month, a mob set a train on fire near Patna as some stops on its route had been cancelled.

The question now: Should these men be treated as criminals. Should these protestors be allowed to get away since it seems that very big and small complaint related to the railways these days results in burning trains.

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BJP's chintan baithak begins in Shimla today

The BJP's 'chintan baithak' begins on Wednesday in Shimla against a backdrop of internal bickering and a growing rebellion in Rajasthan.

But the big question is, will the leadership manage to get past the infighting and do some serious introspection on its poll debacle. Will it come out with a roadmap to revive the party? Even before the meeting begins, there seems to a divergence of views on what should be its focus.

The party's tallest leader at this point, LK Advani, is keen on discussing the road ahead and focus on the coming Assembly elections in several states.

But the RSS and the Rajnath Singh camp want to discuss why the party suffered a defeat in the 15th Lok Sabha polls.

The RSS for a while has been pushing for change at the top and a younger crop of leaders to be brought in. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has made it clear that it's time for change.

But Advani is in no mood to give up. He has indicated he'll be there for the next five years.

The RSS is also saying the party has been totally destabilised by the poll loss, which came as a jolt as no one was prepared for such a poor show.

Meanwhile, as the Advani camp is resisting the RSS, others are using the RSS against Advani to edge them out.

And just a day ahead of its baithak, the BJP got a jolt with Jaswant Singh releasing his book on Jinnah. So will the cool climes of Shimla bring down the heat within the saffron party at the end of the three days?

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India severely hit by H1N1: WHO

WHO says swine flu is now spreading rapidly through the community in India, instead of from moving person to person.

Community spread essentially means measures like airport screening and contact tracing may not be that effective any more. Although this could free up health workers to take care of confirmed cases, the government is still sticking to tracking down suspect cases.

But the rapid spread of swine flu virus in India isn't the big worry for WHO.

They say the states aren't doing enough.

Says Salim Habayeb, WHO representative to India: Centre has done well but in the end health is a state subject and that's where the situation is worrisome. States remain a weak link."

WHO believes there was confusion at first about the best possible way to deal with the virus. While some others just took too long to react.

But badly-hit states like Maharashtra disagree. Says Sharvaree Gokhale, Principal Secretary (Health) Maharashtra: "We have done as well as we possibly could. You look at the web and tell me which countries have done better."

But as swine flu spreads, it's perhaps time for the 178 affected countries to start learning from each other.

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