Mumbai: An on-duty railway guard was allegedly assaulted by a home guard on Mumbai Suburban Railway after asking them to move away from the entrance of a ladies’ compartment. The incident took place on Monday night. According to initial reports, when the guard requested the home guards who were blocking the doorway to move and allow passengers to board safely, one of them reacted and allegedly kicked the guard as train started to move. The CCTV footage of this incident has surfaced on social media and since then it is going viral.
About Incident
This incident occurred around 9:30 PM on April 21, at Western Railway's Vile Parle station, Train Manager Chaitanya Malvade witnessed three to four Home Guards boarding a ladies' compartment between Mahim, Bandra, and Khar stations. Malvade instructed them to spread out across different coaches to assist women, but they refused and verbally abused him. When Malvade threatened to file a complaint, one of the guards, Manoj Sawant, kicked him.
The Government Railway Police (GRP) registered a Non-Cognisable (NC) offence in the case instead of filing an FIR. According to footage, the railway guard is seen asking a Home Guard to move away from the doorway, as he was obstructing passengers. At the same time, the Home Guard places his bags on the platform seating area and begins arguing. As the train starts moving, the guard is allegedly seen kicking the Home Guard during the altercation.
Following the incident, on April 22, around 22–23 Train Managers assembled at the Andheri GRP Police Station and urged Police Inspector Shinde to register a First Information Report (FIR). However, the employees expressed strong dissatisfaction after the police registered only a Non-Cognisable (NC) offence. Employee unions alleged that there was an attempt to downplay the matter by not invoking serious legal provisions, including those related to obstructing a public servant in the discharge of duty. Meanwhile, GRP officials stated that additional relevant sections could be added after seeking legal opinion.