MADURAI: Despite the Railways allocating special coaches for differently abled people on trains, the inhuman behaviour by some railway employees have put the hapless people in jeopardy.
On Saturday, eight railway employees of Tiruchy Railway Division verbally abused T M N Deepak, State Vice President of Tamil Nadu Differently Abled Federation Charitable Trust (TNDFCT) for questioning them for entering the SLRD coach (unreserved coach exclusively for handicapped persons) on Chennai-bound Pallavan Express at Srirangam.
“When the train reached Srirangam station, a man peeped through the window of the coach and commanded us to open the door,” said Deepak.
When a few co-passengers asked him whether he is disabled, he said he is not, and that he is requesting it for a differently abled person waiting to board the train. “Believing him, we opened the door and a group of eight employees wearing a railway union badge rushed inside the coach,” he said.
When Deepak found out that none of them suffered from any disability, he resist-ed their entry.
“The employees abused us and ridiculed our disability,” Deepak said.
T Rose, a differently abled retired railway employee who travelled in the same coach, said they were shocked by the behaviour of the employees.
Rose also pointed out that these employees travel regularly in the SLRD coach from Srirangam to Lalgudi and humiliate the differently abled people if they questioned them.
When the train reached Chennai, Deepak filed a complaint at the Egmore Railway Police Station.
“We conducted preliminary inquiry and found that the employees who are alleged to have misbehaved with the differently abled people are employees at the Tiruchy Railway Division. Therefore, we transferred the case to Tiruchy Railway Police to conduct further investigation,” said V Ponram, Dsp, Government Railway Police, Egmore.