A group of 20 drivers, allegedly associated with Ola and Uber, staged a rail roko at Dadar on Tuesday morning to press their demands. The incident occurred on platform No. 2 on Western Railway’s Dadar station. The protesters stepped on to the tracks at around 10.30 a.m. and were removed by security staff by 10.38 a.m. One local train was held up for around five minutes but morning peak services remained unaffected.
Protesters booked
According to police officials, the drivers were not part of any union and were associated with the Maharashtra Pradesh Dalit Youth Panther under the leadership of Bhaisaheb Jadhav.
Police officials said they had all charged the protestors under sections of the Indian Penal Code for unlawful assembly as well as trespassing under the Railways Act. Shailendra Dhiwar, senior police inspector, Mumbai Central railway police station, said, “We have arrested eight people, who have been let off on bail. We are looking for the rest.”
The Maharashtra Rashtra Rajya Kamgar Sangh and the Marathi Kamgar Sena, the two unions that have been active in the recent protests, denied that the rail roko had anything to do with them.
“We don’t know which faction the drivers belonged to. It is not proper to hold such protests barely a day after the Chief Minister has assured he would look into the matter. The Assembly session is hardly eight days long. We should wait for the CM to fulfill his assurance and take action later,” said Mahesh Jadhav, President of the Marathi Kamgar Sena.
The drivers had called for a strike for the second time on Saturday evening to press their demands but had called it off on Monday after meeting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who assured the unions he would look into the matter once the Assembly session is over.