Old Western Railway coach set ablaze to enact Godhra incident for Modi Biopic
Vadodara, Mar 4: An unused railway coach was Sunday set ablaze during the enactment of the 2002 Godhra train burning incident for a documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The coach, which a Western Railway official called a "mock drill bogie", was set on fire though instructions to the documentary film crew was that it was to be returned after shooting in the same condition as it was provided.
Speaking to reporters Monday, Vadodara Railway Division spokesperson Khemraj Meena said, "The coach provided for the documentary was an unutilised mock drill bogie. It was given to the crew with the stipulation it would be returned in the same condition that it was given. We have charged money for its use."
The Godhra train burning scene was shot at WR's Pratap Nagar station and a set was built for it near the Coach Care Centre there, said the documentary's director Umesh Shukla.
The producers of the documentary had been given four-day permission for shooting on the broad and narrow gauge routes in Pratapnagar and Vishwamitri stations, Meena said.
Monday is the last day for shooting at WR stations, he added.
Jayraj Gadhvi, supervising executive of the shoot in Gujarat, said the coach was used to shoot the train burning scene from outside.
The enactment of the scenes that took place inside the coach during the 2002 Godhra incident will be shot at a set constructed for the purpose in Mumbai, Gandhvi added.
Fifty-nine 'karsevaks' were killed in the Godhra train burning incident of February 27, 2002, triggering the worst communal riots in the history of Gujarat in which over 1,000 people, mostly belonging to the minority community, were killed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Gujarat chief minister at that time.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
