Bareilly, 19 Dec: A woman travelling ticket examiner (TTE) working for the North Eastern Railway’s Izzatnagar division was suspended for allegedly assaulting a female passenger on a platform at Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly Junction on Sunday afternoon.
A departmental investigation is also proceeding against two of her coworkers.
A video of the event, apparently showing TTE Asha Gangwar repeatedly slapping the 27-year-old female passenger, went viral on X, previously Twitter. Two of Gangwar’s colleagues allegedly carried the passenger to the station master’s office, where she was attacked and compelled to deliver a written apology at the Railway Protection Force (RPF) police station at Bareilly Junction.
“We have not yet received a written complaint from the victim in this regard, but based on video footage, we have suspended TTE Asha Gangwar while an investigation is conducted by Commercial Inspector D D Mishra, following which action will be taken against two of her colleagues who are seen dragging the female passenger in the video,” said Sanjeev Sharma, senior divisional commercial manager (Sr DCM), Izzatnagar.
According to sources, the passenger stated that she was traveling with a valid ticket on the Lalkuan-Kasganj Express on Sunday but failed to receive it to from her buddy who had to disembark at the next stop. She apparently also allowed Gangwar to talk with her buddy, but she refused to accept their reasoning.
“The passenger was travelling without a ticket, and when I asked her why, she tried to flee. I had to overcome her or she would have lost her balance and collapsed on the station number five train track. The charges against me are without merit,” TTE Gangwar stated.
“The victim has not yet provided us with a written complaint. We learned that her family members came to the station and paid the fine, after which the victim was allowed to leave,” Inspector Ajit Pratap Singh of the Government Railway Police (GRP), Bareilly Junction, said and claimed, “She had visible bruises on her mouth.”
