TTE urinates on woman passenger, arrested and sacked

Lucknow Government Railway Police said the TTE, Munna Kumar of Begusarai in Bihar, was allegedly in a drunken state when he urinated on the head of a woman passenger who was sleeping on a lower berth of coach number A1.

An off-duty travelling ticket examiner (TTE) was arrested and sacked by the Railways for allegedly urinating on a woman passenger on Akal Takht Express in a drunken state on Sunday, people aware of the matter said on Tuesday.

The incident took place on Sunday night when the Kolkata-Amritsar train (number 12317) was near Akbarganj in Rae Bareli district and was about to enter Charbagh railway station in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. (Representative Photo)

The incident took place on Sunday night when the Kolkata-Amritsar train (number 12317) was near Akbarganj in Rae Bareli district and was about to enter Charbagh railway station in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.

Lucknow Government Railway Police (GRP) said the TTE, Munna Kumar of Begusarai in Bihar, was allegedly in a drunken state when he urinated on the head of a woman passenger who was sleeping on a lower berth of coach number A1.

The TTE was posted in Saharanpur. He was travelling as a fellow passenger and was not on duty when the incident took place, the GRP said.

“The accused was arrested by Lucknow GRP and an FIR was lodged against him on Monday. He has been charged under sections 352 (assault), 354 (assault or use of criminal force to any woman), and 509 (insult the modesty of any woman) of Indian Penal Code,” said Sanjay Kumar Sinha, circle officer, GRP, Lucknow.

“On Sunday around 12:30am, my wife was sleeping when Munna Kumar came and urinated on her head,” the woman’s husband, Rajesh Kumar, said.

“When my wife raised an alarm, all the passengers gathered and caught hold of the TTE and thrashed him before handing him over to the police,” he added. He also alleged that the TTE was in a drunken state.

Sinha said the GRP was informed about the incident through the Railway Control Room. “The police reached Charbagh station and arrested the man. He has been sent to judicial custody,” Sinha said.

“Whether the TTE was under the influence of alcohol is yet to be ascertained,” he added.

Munna Kumar was sacked by the Railways for his conduct.

“Zero tolerance. Removal from service with immediate effect,” Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw tweeted.

He also shared a copy of the removal order by the Northern Railway. “Your conduct showing disrespect to women construes serious misconduct, in the process bringing disrepute not only to your own self but entire railways as an organization. It is also seen that you are in judicial custody. Taking cognizance of this grave matter, I consider it to be a fit case to adopt the provision of Rule 14(ii). Thus, I hereby deem it fit to impose the punishment of ‘removal from service with immediate effect’ for behaviour unbecoming of a railway servant,” the order said.

Similar incidents have been reported in the past.

In January, a passenger onboard a New York-New Delhi Air India flight was arrested for allegedly urinating on an elderly woman co-passenger in the business class of the aircraft in November. The accused, Shankar Mishra, is currently out on bail. The airline has imposed a four-month flying ban on him.

A second such incident was also reported in January when a drunk male passenger urinated on a female passenger’s blanket onboard Air India’s Paris-New Delhi flight on December 6. The airline said it reported the matter as per protocol and the two people involved in the incident reached an understanding when the matter went to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

(With ANI inputs)