Ticket clerk severely injured as passenger assaults her

A passenger assaulted a ticket clerk over change at Kalyan station, leading to protests by staff for better security. The attacker was detained.

THANE: A passenger assaulted a ticket clerk over a dispute pertaining to change after purchasing a ticket at Kalyan railway station on Friday. Kalyan Government Railway Police have detained the passenger. Other staff closed the booking counter for an hour in protest.

Ticket clerk severely injured as passenger assaults her

The incident took place on Friday morning, when the attacker, Ansar Sheikh, 35, approached the ticket counter at Kalyan station with ₹20 to purchase a ₹15 ticket to Byculla. At the time, Roshni Patil was the only ticket clerk at the counter. According to the Pandhari Kande, senior police inspector of the Kalyan Railway Police Station, Patil requested Sheikh to either provide exact fare or to wait until she gets change from other passengers before she could issue his ticket. A dispute over this escalated into a verbal argument and Sheikh, in a fit of anger, stormed in the ticket counter. He beat her up till she fell unconscious.

Her colleagues were outside at the time but when they returned to the counter, they immediately informed Kande, who rushed to the location with his team. The police team searched the Kalyan station and detained Ansar Sheikh. A case will be registered against him at the railway police station.

Ashwini Shinde, a railway employee who also works at ticket booking counter, said, “Due to lack of security for ticket clerks, we often face such incidents. We frequently must endure verbal abuse and physical assaults from passengers. Roshni also claimed that her gold jewellery was stolen. Police are checking CCTV camera.” Patil sustained serious injuries and was rushed to the railway hospital where she is undergoing treatment, added the colleague.

Reacting to the situation, ticket clerks at Kalyan railway station staged a work stoppage, demanding security in the ticket counter area. They urged the government to prioritize their request for enhanced safety measures. The ticket booking counter was reopened an hour later.