Within hours of mid-day publishing a report on how two Ticket Checkers (TCs) physically assaulted a commuter at the Andheri railway station for not being fully vaccinated, the Western Railway authorities swung into action and transferred the duo to the control room as punishment posting. The authorities also recorded the statement of victim Pratik Sen and started investigation into the matter.
The authorities said that they would take action against both the TCs for allegedly harassing people at railway stations and extorting money from them. Sen told mid-day that since the incident he changed his way out of the station, as he was scared the TCs would harass him again.
The TCs who assaulted Sen have been identified as R K Singh and Mukesh Madhav Das. Both worked as Senior Examiners at the Andheri station. Sen is a ground staff at the Mumbai International Airport.
Speaking to mid-day, Western Railway Chief PRO Sumit Thakur said, “We have removed both the TCs from duty and transferred them to the control room. We conducted an in-depth inquiry into the matter. Once the investigation is complete, we will take necessary action against both of them. Our officer also contacted complainant Pratik Sen and recorded his statement.”
According to railway officials, both the TCs were present on the FOB at the station on Tuesday and had caught a number of passengers on the spot. Sen complained that they were standing with two constables and harassing people over vaccination.
Sen said, “I’ve changed my route of going out of the station. I’m using the old railway bridge where no TCs are present. I am scared that these TCs will again attack me to take revenge. After mid-day published the news, one of the TCs — Mukesh Madhav Das — even called my senior and told him that some misunderstanding had happened.”
Speaking to mid-day, TC Mukesh Madhav Das said, “We didn’t assault Pratik Sen. I stopped him and asked for his railway pass and universal travel pass. The photos on both the passes were not matching, so I requested him to show his Aadhaar card. However, he failed to produce his Aadhaar card and I asked him to pay a fine.”
The incident
On September 11, Sen took a train from Bhayandar station and got down at Andheri around 8.22 pm. While he was going out of the station, the TCs caught him and asked whether he was fully vaccinated. Sen told them that he was an essential service worker and was travelling using the universal travel pass. However, the TCs said that the pass was fake and started beating him up. They even dragged him through the foot-over-bridge. They later demanded ‘3,600 from him. When he did not give the money, they released him after issuing threats.
Surjitt Sahani
