Engineering graduate selling fruit on train, beaten up by RPF jawan

A GRP officer said that RPF constable Ajit Nayak asked the girl to show her ticket, following which an altercation ensued. The RPF constable then hit her with his baton, causing injury to her head and forcibly deboarded the girl at Rourkela while she bled

Published on: Oct 3, 2021, 08:36:55 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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A 30-year-old engineering graduate from Dharwad district of Karnataka has lodged a complaint with the Government Railway Police (GRP) in Odisha that a railway protection force constable beat her up and tried to molest her while she was selling fruits in Gitanjali Express without a ticket.

The girl was first beaten up and abused by the RPF jawan and then forcibly deboarded at Rourkela Railway Junction (Photo Courrtesy-Kalingatv.com)

Anitharaj Shirahatti, an engineering graduate in computer science from Dharwad in Karnataka, alleged in her complaint to GRP in Rourkela that constable Ajit Nayak assualted her with a baton on Saturday, leading to a head injury and also abused her in filthy language.

Inspector of GRP Rourkela, Ranjan Patnaik said Anitharaj didn’t have money and had boarded the train at Gondia station in Maharashtra to travel to Howrah. “At Panposh station near Rourkela, RPF constable Ajit Nayak asked her to show her ticket following which an altercation ensued. The RPF constable hit her with his baton causing bleeding injury on her head and then forcibly deboarded the profusely bleeding girl at Rourkela,” said Patnaik.

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The GRP registered an FIR against constable Nayak and got the girl examined for her injuries. A case was registered under sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

“Had a TTE questioned me, I would not have protested as I was travelling without ticket. But who gave the authority to a RPF constable to beat me in such an inhuman way. I want to know what authority does RPF has to beat and abuse,” Anita asked. The accused constable is posted with the RPF unit at Jamshedpur.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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