KOZHIKODE: A travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) on the Mangaluru-Chennai West Coast Express was assaulted by a passenger on Sunday morning. The assailant, identified as Biju Kumar, was promptly apprehended by Railway police for his assault on Rishi Sasheendran.
Rishi, the injured ticket examiner, received medical attention at Shornur Railway Hospital. The incident occurred around 3 AM as the train passed through Vadakara station. According to reports, Bijukumar, who was travelling in a sleeper coach, began causing disturbances aboard the train from Kannur. Witnesses claim he appeared to be intoxicated. Following disruptive behaviour, he was asked to disembark from another train destined for Kannur. Subsequently, he boarded the S10 coach of the West Coast Express.
The police reported that the TTE instructed the accused to exit due to a lack of a valid ticket. It wasn’t until Railway Police personnel arrived on the scene that Biju Kumar was taken into custody. He had initially entered the train’s coach with permission from the Railway Protection Force (RPF), citing that his bag was onboard. However, he remained on the train after departure.
TTE Rishi Sasheendran alerted the RPF officers at Vadakara, the subsequent station. Officials stated that Biju Kumar, vexed by the TTE’s actions, attempted to attack him by hurling a knife. Fellow passengers managed to subdue the attacker and subsequently handed him over to the police.
This incident follows another disturbing occurrence the previous day when a female TTE named Rajitha, a native of Palakkad, was assaulted by a passenger on the Mangaluru-Chennai Egmore Express. The attack transpired after a passenger, holding only a regular ticket, was instructed to vacate a reservation coach. In this case, a 74-year-old suspect was arrested by the police in connection with the assault.