Mass Exodus; Train-full of Biharis Return from Maharashtra
Patna: February 13, 2008
After being brutalized by Raj Thackeray's thugs for weeks, hundreds of migrant workers from Bihar returned to their home state wearing signs of fatigue, anxieties and a sense of relief, all mixed in one emotions, as the Dadar-Bhagalpur Express pulled at Patna Junction on Wednesday.
Everyone disembarking from the train had a harrowing tale to tell as media persons competed to grab their sound bites and stories that led them to abandon their dreams and return home empty-handed.
"We were pulled out of our homes, beaten up and ordered to pack or else face certain death," said Moin Mohammed, one of the mill workers who was forced to leave his 'karmbhoomi' by the supporters of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.
All this time the police remained a mute spectator and instead harassed those who dared to file a complaint against the perpetrators, they said.
Another passenger gave a detailed account of how he managed to escape from the mob and fled to the Dadar railway station with his family to save his and his family members' lives.
Several passengers were seen crying after stepping out of the train and finding their family members waiting for them.
The escape from Mumbai to Patna became even more eventful when a Muslim woman, a Bhagalpur native, had to give birth of her child in the Dadar-Bhagalpur Express toilet.
"Our house in Nasik was attacked by MNS activists last Monday forcing us to run for our safety despite the condition of my wife who was due to deliver her baby any moment," said Mohammed Razi, the father of the child.

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