Saturday, August 31, 2013

WR motorman stops train in the nick of time, saves depressed woman Scared because her parents wanted to take her to a psychiatrist, she ran away and jumped in front of a train


Mumbai Mirror Bureau mirrorfeedback@timesgroup.com TWEETS @_MumbaiMirror 


    An alert motorman saved the life of a 20-year-old woman who had jumped in front of a train at Mahalaxmi station on Friday morning. Shabra Banu, who suffers from depression, tried to commit suicide but survived with minor injuries after the motorman applied the brakes just in time. 
    “Shabra ran away from her Worli residence just before her parents were about to take her to a psychiatrist at Nagpada,” said Rajendra Trivedi, Government Railway Police (GRP) inspector, Mumbai Central. When her parents realised she was missing, they panicked and filed a missing complaint at Worli police station and searched for her everywhere. 
    Meanwhile, a scared Shabra made her way to Mahalaxmi station and jumped on to the tracks just as a Churchgate-bound train pulled in at 9.15 am. “The motorman promptly applied the emergency brakes and the train stopped even before it could reach her,” said a Western Railway (WR) official. 
    As a crowd gathered at the spot, Shabra became nervous and refused to speak. GRP personnel rushed her to Nair Hospital for treatment of bruises she had sustained. “At the hospital, Shabra went into a shell. A police team tried speaking to her, but she would just not tell us anything. As Shabra had no identification on her, we were clueless for several hours,” said Trivedi. 
    Later, after she had been given medication, Shabra regained composure and told GRP personnel her name and address, who then informed her parents. “We are lucky that she survived. We were praying that she was okay when we were informed about what happened,” said Shabra’s father Ishraul Haq Ansari. 
    According to Ansari, the family had spent the last few days convincing Shabra to meet the doctors at Daud Hospital in Nagpada. “She was scared of meeting doctors for an evaluation. We kept convincing her that it was for her own good. And just as we thought she was okay, Shabra ran away,” Ansari said, adding that his daughter, who is a Std 6 drop-out, would hardly venture out of home. Police are still trying to figure how she managed to make her way to Mahalaxmi station on her own. 
    At Nair Hospital, Shabra was treated on an OPD basis for her injuries and underwent an Xray and CT scan, which ruled out internal injuries. She was then sent home with her relatives. 
    WR officials could not be reached to confirm the identity of the motorman who saved her.

Shabra jumped on to the tracks just as a Churchgate-bound train pulled in at 9.15 am

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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Unsafe trains prompt governor to summon RPF, GRP top brass American’s Stolen Phone Not Yet Traced


Sanjeev Shivadekar TNN 


Mumbai: Governor K Sankaranarayanan summoned top officers of the two railway security agencies—Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force—to Raj Bhavan on Tuesday, to know what was being done to curb crime on trains, especially to make trains safer for women. 
    Earlier this month, American national Michelle Marks was slashed and robbed in the first-class compartment of a running Western Railway local. A few weeks before that, a nurse was molested in a train at Mahalaxmi. 
    Raj Bhavan sources said the governor intends to write to the railway minister, asking him to immediately fill vacant positions in the RPF. 
    The Governor also exhorted the RPF to assist the GRP in providing night escorts in women’s coaches. Other instructions given to the two security forces were to create an atmosphere of safety on railway platforms and coaches so that commuters feel secure, besides taking preventive measures to free railway premises of petty criminals and beggars. 
    The Governor called the meeting after receiving a memorandum from a group of journalists, which sought safety measures in the wake of the Shakti Mills gangrape and the attack on Marks. Inspector-general Mahim Swami of the RPF (WR) said a crackdown on men travelling illegally in women’s compartments will start from Wednesday. “The operation will comprise a 100-member team and will be supervised by 15 inspectors and sub-inspectors. It will be conducted from late evening to early morning,” Swami told TOI. 
    The GRP is yet to trace Marks’ stolen iPhone. On Monday, the GRP arrested a drug addict, Rajkumar Tiwari, for the attack, who claimed he sold the phone to a drug peddler, Mehrunnisa. She in turn claimed it was stolen from a plastic bag in which she kept drugs at home. On Tuesday, Mehrunnisa was also arrested. 
June 2011 | A 25-year-old woman was molested in a local at Nerul at 5.10am. She ran to another coach at the next station. On reaching Thane, she approached RPF personnel, who allegedly made light of the issue. The HC took up a suo motu PIL on women’s safety 
April 2013 | Auditorium manager Vinay Parab was robbed at knifepoint in the firstclass compartment of a local at Mumbai Central at 12.45am. He claimed the GRP took time to register his complaint 
May 2013 | Delhi resident Preeti Rathi was attacked with acid as she got off the Garib Rath at Bandra Terminus. GRP arrested a youth but couldn’t get sufficient evidence against him. A month later, Rathi succumbed to her injuries


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Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Man who slashed US citizen with blade on train nabbed


Virat A Singh mirrorfeedback@timesgroup.com TWEETS @_MumbaiMirror 


    The government railway police (GRP) on Monday arrested the 31-year-old man responsible for slashing a 25-year-old US resident on the neck in a running train on August 18. The accused was nabbed at Mumbai CST 
    Rajkumar Tiwari, a drug addict slashed Michele Marks on the neck with a blade on August 18, before snatching her cell phone and escaping. Marks was travelling in the first class compartment from a Borivali-bound local after attending a prayer meet at Colaba. 
    The GRP said Tiwari, a drug addict, has five cases of theft registered against him. He was externed by the railway police at CST on two previous occasions. 
    Tiwari was arrested by a special team, while they were carrying out a combing operation at CST station. They had rounded 20 drug addicts and suspects. 
    “Tiwari had some old injuries on his head, wrist and elbow. When we questioned him,he said he fell off a running train at Charni Road a week back,” said D D Wadmare, senior police inspector, railway police crime branch. 
    Wadmare added that the cops used this information and interrogated Tiwari, who finally confessed that he had assaulted Marks with a blade that he was carrying under his lips.“He said that he slashed her on the neck and jumped off the train with her mobile phone at Charni Road station,” added the cop. 
    B Shirsat, DCP, GRP (Western Railway) said that Tiwari, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, is a habitual offender. “He has sold the mobile phone to a woman named Benu, a drug peddler. She gave him Rs 300 and told him she would give him the remaining money later. We will arrest the woman soon,” he said. 
    Tiwari has been remanded in police custody till August 30. The GRP is investigating other crimes he may be involved in. “Marks is still under trauma.We will inform her and proceed with the necessary formalities,”Shirsat added. 
    The GRP, meanwhile, has started providing additional homeguards in ladies compartments, a senior official said. “However, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) needs to ensure that railway premises is free of drug addicts, beggars and urchins,” the official said. 
GUV TO DISCUSS VACANCIES IN RAILWAYS Meanwhile, Maharashtra governor K Sankaranarayan has called a meeting on Tuesday with top railway officials to discuss vacancies in the RPF and the need to fill them up. Currently, the stations are patrolled by the GRP. 
    Figures provided by the state show that there are 1,379 vacant posts in the RPF. The state has argued that the RPF, along with the GRP, should be held equally responsible in patrolling the stations.

Tiwari’s police remand ends on August 30
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Thursday, August 22, 2013

Empty coaches, desolate spaces spook commuters

Bella Jaisinghani TNN 


Mumbai: The attack on American social worker Michelle Marks on a local train near Marine Lines when she was alone in a compartment has reinforced the fear in many commuters. Anxiety peaks on certain stretches of the local train network that are crime-prone, particularly among lone travellers. 
    Typically, the tracks are poorly lit in these areas. So once the sun sets, it is tough to spot an intruder before he gets in. And it is not just women who fear for their safety if a coach is empty, even men are on their guard. 
    The stretch between Mumbai Central and Churchgate on the Western 
line evokes fear in commuters headed towards town, particularly during non peak hours. The infamous attack on Jayabala Ashar took place here, as did the latest assault on Marks. 
    “On my night shift, I take the Churchgate fast local from Andheri after 5pm. The compartment is deserted after Dadar and Mumbai Central. I am often alone as few people are headed towards town at that hour. I am on edge during the last mile,” said Andheri resident Shreyasi Navare, who works at a printing press at Nariman Point. Commuters dread the unscheduled halts during a journey. 
    The Harbour line has its own creepy stretch between Masjid and Reay Road. “Young boys who perform stunts get into the women’s coaches and misbehave. It’s futile asking them to get off because they travel in groups every day and can retaliate,” said Sharda Solanki, a helper at a Sewri hospital. 
    The Central Railway line has its own problem spots like Byculla, Kurla, Ghatkopar and some beyond city limits that have witnessed their own share of unsavoury incidents. Often policemen on duty board the ladies coach at night from Masjid, leaving the dark stretch from CST to Masjid unattended.
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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Train runs over 37 pilgrims crossing tracks in Bihar Mob Thrashes Driver, Sets Bogies Ablaze


Bhuvaneshwar Prasad & N P Thakur TNN 


Saharsa/Khagaria (Bihar): 
At least 37 people were crushed to death and scores of others injured when the Saharsa-Patna Rajyarani Express barrelled in at about 80km an hour at the remote Dhamara Ghat railway station while the victims were crossing the tracks on Monday. The accident led to violent protests, with mobs brutally assaulting the train driver, setting over a dozen coaches afire, ransacking offices and holding railway staff hostage for several hours. 
    Most of the victims were pilgrims on their way to Katyayani temple of Lord Shiva, which is situated near the railway station, on the last Monday of the holy month of Shravan. 
    They had alighted from the Saharsa-Samastipur passenger and Jan Seva trains and were crossing the tracks to reach the platform on the other side when the speeding Rajyarani ploughed into them on the middle track at about 8.40am. 
    While nine of those killed by the train were women, four of them were children.Official blames pilgrims for ‘trespass’ 
Saharsa/Khagaria (Bihar): With violent protests making it difficult for relief and rescue teams to reach Dhamara Ghat station in Bihar following the mowing down of at least 37 pilgrims, bodies lay on the tracks for hours. The accident site is around 160km from Patna and accessible only by rail. Six seriously injured passengers were rushed to Khagaria Sadar hospital, while two were sent to Patna. Relief and medical teams were rushed from Barauni, Saharsa and Katihar. 
    Seething with rage, people burned down over 12 coaches, including two AC ones, and the engines of both Rajyarani Express and the Saharsa-Samastipur train. There was no one to douse the flames until 4pm, said a passenger. While the delay in the rehab efforts raised the hackles of the mob further, railway officials blamed the issue on the agitation. 
    Calling it a case of “trespass”, Railway Board chairman Arunendra Kumar said the pilgrims were illegally crossing the tracks. “Rajyarani Express ploughed into them as they were frenetically getting across the middle track at the station,” said Samastipur divisional railway manager Arun Malik, adding that Rajyarani had clearance as it did not have a stoppage at Dhamara Ghat. 
    The Bihar government has announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of those killed. Chief minister Nitish Kumar said he had spoken to railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge and urged him to arrange more compensation from the railways. Kharge has reportedly promised to consider the demand. Agencies said Kharge has raised the compensation to Rs 5 lakh. 
    East Central Railway chief public relations officer Amitabh Prabhakar said the authorities had spoken to the district magistrate and the SP, both of who had to face public ire, and directed them to provide police reinforcement so that medical aid could be rushed to the injured before they could be shifted to hospitals. 
Kharge faces opposition fury in RS over accident New Delhi: Railway minister Mallikarjun Kharge had to face a tough time in Rajya Sabha on Monday while making a statement on the Bihar train tragedy. Kharge described the train mishap as an “incident” in his statement. He said that such tragedies were termed incidents under railway rules. A member said the compensation for victims of ‘incidents’ was less than in case of ‘accidents’ and it would not go on record while computing total number of train accidents. TNN



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Monday, August 19, 2013

US national attacked, robbed in local train Victim was alone in women’s compartment when a man boarded the train, slashed her neck and fled with her phone

Virat A Singh @timesgroup.com TWEETS @ _mumbaimirror 


    Just how unsafe it is for a lone woman to travel on suburban trains in the city came to light once again when a 25-year-old US national was attacked on a Borivali-bound train on Sunday. 
    The victim, identified as Michelle Marks,had gone to visit Bombay Baptist Church at Colaba and was returning to Goregaon, where she is residing at present. She works for an anti-human trafficking NGO and had been living in India for the last almost 18 months. 
    Marks was travelling in the first class compartment reserved for women, and it being a Sunday, the compartment was empty. 
    When the train reached Marine Lines station, a man around 25 years of age got into the compartment and tried to snatch her bag and phone. When she resisted, he attacked her with a sharp object, probably a blade. He took swipes at her neck twice and even managed to injure her hand. The woman dropped her phone in panic and the accused fled with the phone. 
    The accused then got off at Charni Road station. Marks, whose neck had started bleeding by now, tried to get off at Grant Road station but missed it. 
    She then got off at Mumbai Central station, where a cop saw her and enquired about the matter. He then took her to Nair Hospital. 
    She had a deep gash on her neck and required five stitches. Though not critical, Marks was in a state of shock. She was discharged by evening. The church authorities and her family also rushed to the hospital but they were not willing to comment on the issue. 
    John Wilson, pastor of Bombay Baptist Church, said, “It is a shocking incidence for us. Luckily, she remembered the church landline number. Fortunately, she is not grievously injured.” 
    The Government Railway Police has registered a case of assault and causing grievous injuries. The victim said, “I have been staying here for so long. Nothing of this sort has ever happened to me before.” 
    Sherbanoo Bundeally, who was headed to Malad for some work and was getting in the train at Mumbai Central,said,“Ijustsawthatagirlwas being helped out a cop, who took her to the police station. She was bleeding profusely and was crying in pain and looking extremely scared. The other commuters in the coach told me that she was assaulted by a thief.” 
    Meanwhile, officials from GRP, are trying to first find out if the case fell under the jurisdiction of Mumbai Central police or Churchgate police. 
    “As of now, we have filed a case of robbery and causing grievous injury on an unidentified person. We have got a rough description of the person from the victim and have deployed a team to track the person,” said a senior official from the Churchgate GRP. 
A TRACK RECORD TO BE ASHAMED OF JUNE 2013: Yasmin Shaikh, a 23-year-old woman, was injured on board a Central Railway local after a youth hit her from outside the compartment in an attempt to make her loose her grip on her cellphone. The train was near Kopri bridge between Mulund and Thane stations. JULY 2013: A 23-year-old woman, who boarded a train at Mumbai Central station and was headed towards Dadar was attacked in the women’s compartment by a man who got into the compartment at Mahalaxmi station. He tried to strangulate her when she resisted his attempt to rape her.

Many incidents exposing lack of security for women travelling in suburban trains of Mumbai have come to the fore recently

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Sunday, August 18, 2013

TIMES IMPACT Cop suspended for not responding to woman’s call about flasher on train

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 


Mumbai: A woman constable was suspended after the Railway Protection Force (RPF) control room failed to respond to a call from a woman commuter who wanted to alert the cops about a man who was flashing on a running train on Western Railway on Friday morning. 
    The Government Railway Police finally arrested the accused Vinaykumar Singh 
(30), who is employed with WR as peon. The incident took place around 8am in a Churchgate-bound fast train. 
    Inspector general of police, Western Railway, Mahim Swami said, “I decided to suspend the constable concerned after a report in TOI alleged that the complainant’s call to the RPF control room on the day of the incident failed to elicit any response.” 
    Based on preliminary inquiry, WR has identified head constable Rekha Namdeo for alleged dereliction of duty. She was posted in the control room when the incident occurred. 
    Swami said, “The inquiry will be wrapped up in a couple of days. We have also requested the complainant to record her statement. If found guilty, the constable will be given exemplary punishment so that there is no repeat of such lapse in future.” 
    It is yet to be established whether the constable did not pick up the call at all or she failed to pass on the information after receiving the complaint. Swami said, “The inquiry is being conducted to find out the reasons.” 
    Railway activist Samir Zaveri said, “The RPF should dismiss the constable if she is found guilty. Stern action will ensure that others do not take their job lightly. Top officials should also regularly call up the control room to check the preparedness of the system.” 
    Security for woman commuters has been found lacking over the past few months on the suburban railway. On July 27, a nurse travelling alone was molested by a man in the compartment. The onduty GRP constable was suspended after he overslept and missed the train at Churchgate stion. 
    On August 13, an attempt was made by stunt-boys—all minors—to rob a journalist in a running train at 4pm. 
    Mira Road resident Shreya P said, “Railway authorities should consider installing CCTV cameras in ladies compartments like in the Delhi Metro and BEST buses.” 
THE INCIDENT The complainant, employed with a private firm in Lower Parel, had boarded the first class compartment of a Churchgate bound local at 7.58am at Mira Road. She noticed that the accused, travelling in the adjacent first class general compartment, was flashing while travelling on the train’s footboard. The complainant, who was also travelling on the footboard of the ladies first class, called the RPF control room. As there was no response, the complainant called up the GRP helpline. GRP personnel then nabbed the flasher at Dadar and took him to Mumbai Central. He was later transferred to the Borivli GRP, which has registered a case under Section 509 of IPC. 
THE ACTION TAKEN Head constable Rekha Namdeo has been placed under suspension pending completion of inquiry 
DIAL FOR HELP GRP Helpline | 
9833331111 RPF | 1311

The TOI report on August 17, 2013

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