Following a man's death during Shah Rukh Khan's 'Raees' promotions, his family files complaint to know if proper permissions were taken, station's DRM says commuter 'dug his own grave'
Shah Rukh arriving at Vadodara where the incident occurred
The promotion of Shah Rukh Khan’s latest was supposed to replicate the success of the Tamashaa promotion stunt. Instead, it became a tamasha of its own when crowds in unexpected numbers thronged the stations — Vadodara in particular — to catch a glimpse of the superstar, leading to the unfortunate death of Farid Khan Sherani. He was at the station to visit a relative who was part of the media with Shah Rukh on the train.
Also read - 'Raees' train debacle: Deceased's brother-in-law recounts the horrific ordeal
The crowd at Vadodara had to be lathicharged at to bring under control. Pics/Nirav Trivedi
Complaint registered
Following Sherani’s death, his brother-in-law Ghulam Mohammad has registered a complaint at the Vadodara railway station, demanding to know if Shah Rukh had the requisite permissions to promote the film at the station.
However, even as the family is still coming to terms with Sherani’s death, railway officials say the commuters “dug their own grave” at the event. DRM of the Vadodara railway station, NK Shukla said, “He wasn’t a passenger nor did he have a platform ticket. Moreover, when the train started moving, the public should understand and step away, instead of running towards it. It would be wrong to say he died in a stampede; he had a heart attack.”
Talking about the family’s complaint, Shukla added, “For any kind of permission, the Western Railway (Mumbai) CPRO is consulted, not the divisional head, so we are in no way responsible for giving permission to Shah Rukh Khan. However, if a complaint is made, we will definitely respond to it. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) is already conducting an inquiry.”
Meanwhile, an official from the Western Railway (Mumbai), requesting anonymity, said, “The permission was given, but only for the media people inside the coach. We have to give that permission because without it, the Ticket Collector might object. In spite of taking all kinds of security measures, something so unfortunate has happened, so an inquiry has already been initiated. Suresh Prabhu himself has tweeted about this, so as far as the Mumbai CPRO is concerned, I think that should suffice.”
Family speaks out
In a statement to the media at the Maharaja Sayajirao General Hospital, Mohammad said, “He did not go there to meet Shah Rukh Khan; he went there to give dinner to a relative who was travelling in that train from Surat. All the other reports are baseless. We would request everyone to stop harassing the family and let things be.”
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