Ticketless passengers abuse and harass a female passenger in reserved coach.
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Incident occurred on April 11, 2015.
Train 12640 Brindavan Express
Bangalore to Chennai
Coach...
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D3.
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The situation demanded that my wife and 4-year-old son had to travel and accordingly I had booked 2 tickets for them.
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As usual I accompanied them to the Bangalore city railway station.
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My wife and son boarded the designated coach and ensured they were seated in their respective seats ie a window seat for my son and middle seat for my wife.
The train left Bangalore as per schedule and I headed towards my home.
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We both exchanged SMS about missing each other. For quite some time there was no sms from my wife and I was under the impression she must be asleep.
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Around 4:30 pm after the train crossed Bangarapet I got a call from my wife about trouble to her from the co passenger in the train.
My wife narrated that the lady sitting next to her on aisle seat was sitting like on a floor with both legs crossed.
This meant that my wife and son were literally sitting in just one seat even though I had booked two seats.
Even though the lady had only one seat for herself, the other two seats were literally occupied by her sitting with legs crossed like we sit on floor with legs crossed.
We all knew that Brindavan express reserved coaches are of second sitting class with three people to seat.
This led to verbal argument and then abuse.
By this time her husband also joined and started to harass my wife.
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Both husband and wife briefly told my wife:
To make my son sit on my wife lap.
My son is not entitled to sit on seat.
To board a flight and not to travel in reserved coach.
The seat my wife and son sitting belong to them.
Window seat which my son was sitting belong to them.
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This went on and on and on at regular intervals. This seat fighting then turned to verbal abuse like commenting about my wife and the dress she is wearing and you can imagine rest of the things for yourself. This went on and on and both the husband and wife started making fun of my wife and son. She started pushing my wife towards the window as much as possible.
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Now comes the most interesting part ie the TTE for ticket checking. When the TTE asked for the tickets both husband and wife did not have tickets and are travelling in reserved coach ticketless. THEY DO NOT HAVE TICKETS. They are ticketless passengers travelling in reserved coach sitting and arguing for seat and abusing a reserved coach female who was travelling alone.
My wife never knew that they were of ticketless passengers during this seat fighting/argument.
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Other passengers also tried to intervene but were of no help for my wife.
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At Ambur station a third passenger related to this husband and wife joined and the problem became even bigger. Even he i.e. the third passenger who boarded in Ambur started to abuse my wife.
Out of frustration my wife phone called me with all the details and trouble she was undergoing.
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Sitting in Bangalore I quickly realized the gravity of problem. I searched for the Railway Police phone number and got the Chennai RPF number. I phone called the RPF Chennai and a lady picked the call. I informed about the trouble my wife was undergoing in the train and she quickly transferred the call to her supervisor. The RPF supervisor started to record my statement. I gave full description of the trouble my wife was undergoing in the train, including details of her coach number, seat number she was sitting. They collected my wife details including her phone numbers. RPF Chennai informed me to stay calm and he will ensure safety of my wife. RPF Chennai phone called my wife and told her to be calm and traced the train to be moving towards Katpadi and wait for RPF personal to board the train at Katpadi station.
RPF Chennai and I phone called my wife to inform her that RPF personal will come to her help at Katpadi station.
As soon as the Brindavan Express reached Katpadi station 5 RPF police including a woman constable boarded D3 coach and took stock of the situation after speaking to my wife and to those three shameless, obnoxious disgusting cowards who were harassing my wife who was travelling alone. RPF police checked tickets of my wife and concluded she had 2 reserved tickets. While the husband and wife who boarded/occupied seat at Bangarapet never had tickets and the third passenger who boarded at Ambur had tickets. This meant that the husband and wife travelled ticketless. It is also not clear as to where the husband and wife boarded the train but was evident that they were ticketless passengers. The RPF police then questioned the TTE as to how he allowed ticketless passengers to board reserved coach and allowed them to travel who in turn abused a reserved coach female passenger. The TTE and all three passengers were mute spectators before RPF police and all other passengers in the coach justified the amount of trouble that these three passengers gave to my wife.
The RPF police removed all three passengers and those three were never to be seen in that coach. It was likely they were moved to another coach which was not clear. The RPF personal accompanied my wife in the train until she got down at her designated station. At the station where she got down the RPF personal were seen waiting for her to alight. My father-in-law received my wife and thanked RPF personal who accompanied my wife in train and who were at station. I also got a call from RPF Chennai supervisor who was monitoring this episode and confirmed that my wife alighted at her designated station and is safe.
Now the big question mark about this episode is pointed towards the TTE. Until the RPF checked for the tickets in katpadi my wife never knew that the husband and wife who harassed were ticketless passengers. If the TTE had not allowed the ticketless passengers to travel in reserved coach my wife would have never undergone the harassment. In every railway budget the railway minister speaks about safety for passengers. This is the kind of service and safety my wife got in Brindavan express. We are sure there are several hundreds of such incidents and this is not just one of them.
In every major railway station we get to see and read this.
Indian Railways Wishes You A Happy Journey. When I checked the meaning for “Happy” it shows “cheerful”, “joyful”. Do we have a joyful or cheerful journey? If yes then the above episode will justify. Further when I check the meaning of “Wish” it shows “hope for” So hope for a happy journey but not guaranteed.
Travelling without a ticket
Section 138 says
If any passenger being in a train, fails or refuses to present for examination his ticket immediately on demand being made there for under section 54, or
travels in a train in contravention of the provisions of section 55, he shall be liable to pay, on the demand of any railway servant authorised in this behalf.
Here the railway servant i.e. TTE himself is the culprit and where the question of passenger is liable to pay.
My advice to all female passengers when travelling alone.
Keep your relatives or friends informed about your travel and the place of alight. In case of emergency they might be of help to you.
Note down and save the railway police phone numbers of your railway zone in your mobile phone.
As much as possible try to avoid travelling alone especially during the night.