Two Samastipur division TTEs axed for passenger assault

PATNA: Two train ticket examiners (TTEs) of the Samastipur division under the East Central Railway (ECR) in Bihar were suspended for thrashing a passenger on Lokmanya Tilak Mumbai-Jayanagar Pawan Express (11061) on Friday.
The suspended TTEs were identified as Gautam Kumar and Ramesh Kumar. Their suspension was prompted after a video grab about the incident occurring on January 2 went viral on social media.
According to ECR chief public relations officer (CPRO) Birendra Kumar, Samastipur divisional railway manager (DRM) Alok Agarwal immediately got the incident examined when a video clip went viral on social media.
Soon after verifying its authenticity, the DRM asked senior divisional commercial manager of the division to suspend them with immediate effect, he said.
According to sources, the incident had taken place in course of ticket checking in one of the reserved sleeper coaches of the train near Dholi station on the Muzaffarpur-Samastipur route of the division. The passenger, who was initially reluctant to show his ticket, was found travelling without ticket. Both the TTE and the passenger were engaged in a verbal duel for sometime, sources said.
In the video clip, it was apparently clear that the passenger who was sitting on an upper berth, was forcibly dragged down by his leg.
He was hit on his face by the TTE who was later joined by his colleague to shower punches and kicks on him and he fell on the coach floor. The video also showed other passengers who tried to intervene.
According to Samastipur railway official, though the TTEs later allowed him to travel after collecting fine as per the rule, but taking law into own hands and thrashing a passenger in public could not be pardoned, he said.
Watch On cam: TTEs thrash passenger travelling without ticket