Mumbai: Roshani Patil, a 32-year-old a ticket booking clerk of Central Railway Mumbai division, was assaulted by a commuter following an argument over spare change at Kalyan railway station on Friday. The accused, Ansar Shaikh (32), a resident of Netivali, Kalyan East, was later arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP) after registration of case under relevant sections of Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita. Further investigation is on.
The incident occurred around 11:30 a.m. at the station premises when Shaikh, attempting to purchase a local train ticket, engaged in a heated argument with an Automatic Ticket Vending Machine (ATVM) facilitator.
According to the GRP Kalyan senior inspector Pandhari Kande, Shaikh was buying a Rs 15 ticket and gave a Rs 20 note. The ATVM facilitator requested exact change, stating he did not have smaller denominations, which led to the argument.
Witnessing the dispute, Roshani Patil, who was deployed at a nearby booking counter, intervened to mediate. However, the situation quickly escalated, with Shaikh allegedly verbally abusing Patil, forcing open the counter door, and physically assaulting her by punching and kicking.
The woman fell unconscious, and alleged that her gold necklace was stolen during the attack.
Patil's colleagues rushed to her aid and alerted the authorities. On-duty GRP official apprehended Shaikh at the scene, and a case has been registered against him under relevant sections of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita.
In response to the incident, ticket booking clerks at Kalyan station staged a brief protest, demanding enhanced security measures in the ticket hall area. They also urged the railway administration to provide better protection for railway staff to prevent such incidents in the future.
