Agra : Four Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel have been held guilty of “assaulting and dragging” Agra Cantt deputy station superintendent Narendra Singh Chahar across a platform after he ordered to stop the Hirakud Express to help a woman passenger who had been left behind while her child was on board, with a three-member railway committee terming misbehaviour or disrespect towards on-duty railway employees “unacceptable”.
The incident took place on July 12 when the four personnel mistook the stoppage for an unauthorised emergency chain pulling. Despite Chahar explaining that he had formally signalled the train guard to stop, a heated argument broke out, following which he was assaulted and dragged across platform 1. The assault also triggered a 30-minute protest by railway employees and outrage from Chahar’s family. Following court orders, a separate FIR was registered at the GRP Agra Cantt police station against Chahar and around 10 unidentified persons under BNS sections 132 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty), 221 (obstructing a public servant in the discharge of official duties), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) and 190 (unlawful assembly), along with provisions of the SC/ST Act. The committee, comprising the senior divisional operations manager, senior divisional electrical engineer and senior divisional security commissioner (RPF) of Agra division, has put forward 11 measures to improve coordination between railway departments and ensure passenger-friendly functioning.
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It said these aspects should be incorporated into the RPF training curriculum to “ensure personnel display restraint and professionalism while handling sensitive situations”. An Agra division official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident highlighted the need for better coordination and communication among railway departments. The recommendations outlined by the panel are aimed at ensuring that such situations are handled in a more coordinated and sensitive manner in future,” the official said.
Chahar, an Indian Navy veteran, subsequently filed a complaint with the GRP at Agra Cantt, leading to an FIR under BNS provisions including rioting, voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation and intentional insult designed to provoke a breach of peace. The four personnel were suspended and transferred after a video of the incident was widely circulated online. A month later, the RPF personnel alleged that Chahar had abused them and accused them of extortion. It called for a clear and uniform procedure for handling alarm chain-pulling cases to minimise subjectivity and avoid unnecessary inconvenience to passengers, while stressing the need for proper documentation of such actions. The panel also flagged low participation of senior supervisors in the station improvement group (SIG), urging that the senior-most supervisor at each station mandatorily participate to prevent gaps in coordination and communication. “Railway employees, including security personnel, are expected to maintain restraint and professionalism while dealing with passengers or fellow railway staff. Download the TOI App.
Details of the report, accessed by TOI on Saturday, showed that the panel recommended that ASIs Meghraj Meena and Balkishan and constables Badan Singh and Jitendra Singh undergo training in emotional intelligence, conflict management and inter-departmental coordination.