GRP books 42 railway staff for CSMT flash strike

Two commuters were killed and three others were injured near Sandhurst Road station after being hit by a train while walking on the tracks during the service disruption caused by the protest

Mumbai: The Government Railway Police (GRP) on Wednesday booked two office-bearers of a railway workers’ union and 40 Central Railway (CR) staff for participating in a flash strike at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on November 6 that crippled suburban train services during the evening rush hour.

Mumbai, India. Nov 06, 2025 - A Massive crowd at Parel railway station due to the Motormen's sudden strike at CSMT. Mumbai, India. Nov 06, 2025. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

Two commuters were killed and three others were injured near Sandhurst Road station after being hit by a train while walking on the tracks during the service disruption caused by the protest, which lasted a little over an hour.

Nearly a week after the incident, the GRP registered a First Information Report (FIR), naming Central Railway Mazdoor Sangh (CRMS) office bearers SK Dubey and Vivek Sisodia, along with 40 other railway employees, for offences including unlawful assembly, common intention, wrongful confinement of suburban motormen, guards and station officials, and obstructing them from performing their public duties. No arrests have been made so far. GRP officers said the FIR pertains to the agitation itself and not the two commuter deaths.

The flash strike was organised to protest the GRP’s earlier FIR, filed on November 1, against two CR engineers and senior officials for alleged negligence that led to a fatal accident in Mumbra in June, in which five commuters were killed.

According to the GRP’s FIR in the flash strike case, the railway police commissioner had prohibited gatherings of five or more people within the jurisdiction of the Mumbai Railway Police Commissionerate from October 19 to November 17, under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Despite this, more than 200 CRMS members allegedly violated the prohibition order and illegally assembled at CSMT, officers said.

The protesters then allegedly marched from Milan Hall to the front of the divisional railway manager’s office, shouting slogans against the GRP and demanding the withdrawal of the Mumbra FIR. Although union leaders announced the end of the protest around 5.30 pm, the two CRMS officer-bearers and 30-40 others then marched to the motormen’s lobby at CSMT, where they continued to shout slogans, officers said.

The protesters then allegedly blocked the entrance to the motormen’s lobby, the deputy station manager’s office, and the station manager’s office with iron benches, effectively halting suburban train services. It was only at 6.38 pm that the train services could resume. “Based on the unlawful assembly, we have registered a case against the accused,” said an officer from the CSMT GRP.

The GRP has already registered an accidental death report over the two commuter deaths near Sandhurst Road, and is recording statements of witnesses and survivors to establish the sequence of events. “Since trespassing is illegal, we are contemplating filing an FIR,” said a police officer from CSMT GRP.

When contacted, members of the CRMS said they had not received any notification from the GRP regarding the FIR.

With inputs from Shashank Rao