Mumbai Man Fined for Hurting Cop With Stone from Moving Train At Sewri Station

A Mumbai sessions court declared that a man who injured a constable at Sewri station in 2012 by throwing a stone from a moving train was acting recklessly and endangering public safety. However, the court ordered not to send him to prison because at the time of the incident he was a teenager. Rather, it ordered that a modest fine of Rs 500 would adequately further the goals of justice. Mehtab Siddiqui, the accused, is a Mankhurd resident.  The Railway Protection Force (RPF) policeman, Mahindra Ahire, was injured in the cheek after he was found guilty of hurling a stone from a moving local train.

According to the Times of India report, Hemant Choudhari, another RPF head constable, was struck on the leg by a stone at the GTB station that same day.  Only Ahire was able to identify Siddiqui in court later, despite the fact that both injuries were caused similarly.

On July 6, 2012, Ahire was on duty on platform 1 at Sewri station when a young guy in the last luggage compartment of a passing local train yelled and threw a stone at him, the report said, using the prosecution's statements.  Ahire was hurt when the stone hit him directly below his right eye.  He attempted to pursue the attacker, but the train sped off.  Before reporting the incident at the RPF office in Wadala, Ahire completed his duty.  He discovered there that a stone from the same train had hurt another constable.  The perpetrator was similarly described by both victims.

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Ahire was thereafter taken to St. George Hospital for a medical examination after submitting a formal complaint to the Wadala railway police. On August 11, a month later, Ahire identified Siddiqui while on patrol at Sewri station and had him taken into custody. Three days after his detention, Siddiqui returned home on bail.  Constables, the investigating officer, and the medical officer were among the witnesses at the trial. No stone was taken as evidence, according to the defence.  Judge V.G. Raghuwanshi of Additional Sessions, however, rejected the claim, pointing out that the incident took place in a crowded area and that the injured officer was not in a condition to retrieve the stone.

IPC sections 332 (causing hurt to deter a public servant), 337 (causing hurt by endangering life), and 353 (assault on a public servant) were the grounds for Siddiqui's conviction.