Vande Bharat passenger allegedly assaulted in Jhansi after dispute with BJP MLA

Based on the complaint filed by the legislator, FIR has been registered under Sections 115 (2) and 352 of BNS.

A 50-year-old man has alleged that he was assaulted at Jhansi railway station in Uttar Pradesh by a group of men supposedly linked to Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Rajeev Singh Paricha following a dispute over seating arrangements on a train, even as the Babina MLA denied his involvement and alleged that he and his family were “subjected to mental harassment”.

A screen grab of the injured passenger. (SOURCED)

Police said both the passenger, identified as Raj Prakash and Paricha, have filed separate complaints over the incident which took place on Thursday night. “The passenger who was attacked has lodged a complaint in Bhopal,” superintendent of police, Railways, Jhansi, Vipul Srivastava said. “I have asked Inspector GRP Jhansi Yogendra Singh to collect CCTV footage from train and Jhansi railway station. A police team has left to retrieve footage from Bhopal.”

Quoting the complaint filed by Paricha, police said that the MLA was travelling to Jhansi with his wife Kamli Singh and son Shreyansh Singh in coach E-2 of the Nizamuddin–Bhopal Vande Bharat Express. They boarded train from New Delhi.

Paricha said that he was allotted seat 8, while his wife and son were given seats 50 and 51, respectively. The altercation reportedly began when the passengers occupying the nearby seats 49 and 52 were sitting with their legs outstretched. This prompted the MLA to ask the two passengers, including Raj Prakash, to change their seats, the complaint said.

Meanwhile, Raj Prakash, in his complaint, alleged that following the argument a group of eight people entered the train and assaulted him. The passenger, who suffered a broken nose in the assault, further alleged that the assailants were linked to the legislator.

Paricha denied any involvement, stating that he and his family had deboarded the train before the incident took place. “Our journey was disrupted, and we were subjected to mental harassment,” he said.

Based on the complaint filed by the legislator, FIR has been registered against Raj Prakash under Sections 115 (2) and 352 of BNS.