TC allegedly slapped and abused first-year student Pawan Rai and confiscated his cellphone for travelling in a 1st class compartment by mistake
TC allegedly slapped and abused first-year student Pawan Rai and confiscated his cellphone for travelling in a 1st class compartment by mistake
|
| NEVER AGAIN: Pawan Kumar Rai said he doesn't normally travel by local trains and hence couldn't distinguish between first and second class compartments |
Foru00a0the nearly 70-lakh people who travel by local trains on a daily basis, the alleged assault on Pawan Kumar Rai (20) by a ticket collector (TC) on Saturday should serve as an eye opener. The first-year pharmacy student says he was assaulted, abused and had his cellphone confiscated by a TC because he did not have the money to pay the fine for mistakenly travelling in a first class compartment.
"I don't usually travel by local trains but I had to do so on Saturday morning as I was returning home to Vasai from my examination centre in Kalyan. I boarded the overcrowded train in a rush and got into the first compartment I saw as soon as I got off the overbridge. When the train reached Dadar, TC K Veeraswamy caught me and I realised that I had boarded the first class compartment by mistake. I was travelling on the footboard and the train was so crowded that I couldn't make out the first class compartment from the second class one even after getting in," says Rai.
He was then taken to the TCs' cabin on platform number 6 in Dadar where Veeraswamy asked him to pay a fine of Rs 360 for travelling in the first class compartment without a first class ticket. Rai said he tried to explain that he had entered the compartment by mistake and assured the TC that he wouldn't repeat the mistake.
"When Veeraswamy insisted, I told him that I only had Rs 30 on me and didn't even have a debit card to withdraw money from an ATM. I pleaded with him and showed him my second class ticket but he shoved me into the cabin and snatched my bag and wallet to look for money," said Rai.
"When he couldn't find the money, he slapped me twice and even hit me on the head. He took my cellphone and said that he would give it back to me only when I came back with the money for the fine. He just gave me my SIM card and asked me to get out. All this while the other TCs in the cabin remained mute spectators."
"I was made to write on a plain sheet of paper that I was travelling in a first class compartment without a ticket but the TC refused to give me a receipt or anything statingu00a0u00a0 that he had confiscated my phone. When I asked him for his name, he said it is Amitabh Bachhan and asked me what I could do to him," said Rai.
Prompt actionRai couldn't register a complaint with the Dadar GRP on Saturday as he had one exam left but he did so yesterday. The TC was immediately taken into custody by the GRP. S Mudgerikar, chief PRO, Central Railway, too expressed concern at the TC's behaviour, "We will institute a departmental enquiry and strict action will be taken against the TC if he is found guilty," said Mudgerikar.
Raj Khilnani, Director General of Police (GRP), said, "The TC doesn't have the right to assault a passenger or confiscate his cellphone. If the passenger didn't have money to pay the fine, the TC should have handed him over to the RPF. A case has been registered against him and necessary action will be taken."
Samir Zaveri, director, Mumbai Suburban Railway Passenger Association, said, "The TCs just misuse their powers. The concerned TC should be punished for this shameful act. I have written a letter to the Ministry of Railways asking for a proper inquiry into this case and sustained action against railway staff who routinely misbehave with passengers."
