BENGALURU: The Government Railway Police (GRP) have suspended a sub-inspector and a head constable attached to the Bengaluru Railway Division based on allegations that they assaulted a railway passenger and demanded bribe.
A railway police inquiry into the full episode also began on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Railways stressed that the woman ticket examiner was assaulted by the passenger and she fell down as a consequence.
Speaking to Express, D Prakash, Superintendent, GRP, said, “I have ordered an inquiry today.” Sub Inspector Manjunath, attached to the Cantonment GRP, and Head Constable Chandrasekhar have been suspended in connection with the incident, he said.
When asked about the reasons for action to be initiated against them, Prakash said, “There seems to be prima facie involvement of the duo in assaulting and demanding bribe. So, we have placed them under suspension.”
The incident pertains to an incident involving techie Dishendra R Deshmukh on February 9 when he was travelling between K R Puram and Cantonment railway stations.
Deshmukh was carrying a foldable bicycle along when the woman TTE at Cantonment asked him to pay a penalty for carrying unbooked luggage.
Deshmukh’s version was that money was being extracted from him unnecessarily as he had the right to travel with his bicycle and that he was assaulted by railway personnel and cops.
‘Woman TTE Was Assaulted First’
Briefing reporters at the City railway station about the incident on Monday night, Divisional Railway Manager Sanjiv Agarwal said, “The woman Train Ticket Examiner was first assaulted by the passenger and she fell down. After the officer got up, she slapped him for his behaviour. The passenger’s behaviour was resented by other passengers too who started beating him up.”
“Why would any woman TTE otherwise hit a male passenger unless she was subjected to attack in the first place?” he asked.
The DRM also sought to know why the incident was made public by Deshmukh five days after it took place. The woman TTE did the right thing by booking the passenger for travelling without booking his luggage and adhered to the Railway Rules, he added.
“The free luggage allowance on season ticket was only 10 kgs, not 40 kgs,” he stressed.
The DRM also appealed to the public not to enter into a scuffle with railway personnel if they feel they have been overcharged but to collect the receipt first and bring the issue to the authorities concerned.
“If our staff is at fault, action would definitely be taken against them,” he added.