LUCKNOW: A handwritten complaint by passengers Ranjita Rao and Ashish Kumar has surfaced in the Agra Cantt railway station controversy, shedding fresh light on the chain of events that culminated in a public confrontation between Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel and railway operating staff over the Hirakud Express (20808) halt.In the complaint, the couple stated that they were travelling by the Hirakud Express when the couple got down briefly to buy sweets. Before they could reboard, the train started moving. Seeing the situation, a railway employee ensured that the train was stopped to facilitate safe boarding.However, in the written complaint passengers claimed that an RPF woman constable pulled Ranjita Rao off the train and confiscated her mobile phone.They further alleged that RPF personnel later took them to the police office, lodged a complaint against them for alarm chain pulling (ACP), imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 and did not issue a receipt.Speaking to TOI, passenger Ashish Kumar confirmed that after imposing a fine of Rs 1,000 the receipt was not issued. “The train was halted on the instructions of Dy SSO who wanted to ensure our safety. We never pulled ACP. But RPF personnel not only misbehaved with us, but also with Dy SSO.”The complaint appears to support the railway’s preliminary version that the train was halted for passenger safety after intervention by the deputy station superintendent operating (Dy SSO) Narendra Singh Chahar, rather than due to unauthorised chain pulling.The incident drew political attention after Fatehpur Sikri MP Rajkumar Chahar was seen reprimanding RPF personnel in a viral video. “Use your own judgement about how to deal with the public. I had to come because you were dragging the Dy SSO away. You are bringing disrepute to the uniform, the govt and yourselves,” the MP is heard telling the personnel.The confrontation erupted after RPF personnel allegedly detained the couple over suspected ACP, leading to an argument with railway operating staff and the alleged manhandling of the Dy SSO.Taking cognisance of the incident, North Central Railway on Monday suspended four RPF personnel. ASIs Meghraj Meena and Balkishan, along with constables Jitendra and Badan Singh, pending inquiry. A three-member committee of the junior administrative grade level has been formed, comprising the senior divisional operations manager, senior divisional electrical engineer and senior divisional security commissioner (RPF), Agra, to investigate the incident.
