Passenger groups seek action against CR employees for agitation; report sought, say officials

Mumbai, Nov 7 (PTI) Central Railway authorities on Friday sought a detailed report on the agitation by a section of employees at the sprawling CSMT a day earlier, which resulted in stopping of train services for nearly an hour and heavy overcrowding when they resumed.

Near Sandhurst Road railway station, around 7pm, some time after services resumed, two persons died and three were injured after they got down of a crowded train and were hit by another train.

On Thursday evening, Central Railway employees' unions staged a demonstration outside the divisional railway manager's office at CSMT to demand quashing of a FIR against engineers in the June 9 Mumbra accident, in which five passengers had lost their lives.

Due to their agitation at the CSMT lobby, no trains departed from the busy station during peak hours from 5.50 pm to 6.45 pm. As a result the crowd at suburban stations swelled and many passengers were forced to walk on the tracks to reach the nearest stations.

The unions demanded that the FIR be quashed claiming the Mumbra accident took place due to overcrowding rather than technical or operational faults.

In the Mumbra incident, two trains, one headed to Kasara and the other towards Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, were passing each other at a sharp curve when some commuters on the footboard of the coaches fell onto the tracks after their backpacks brushed against each other, as per police.

Following a probe, the Thane railway police recently booked a senior section engineer and a section engineer of Central Railway under section 125(a)(b) (acts endangering life or personal safety of others) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Swapnil Nila, chief public relations officer of Central Railway told PTI on Friday that a detailed report has been sought about the protest by railway employees at CSMT.

However, incensed commuters said officials and those behind the flash strike must be prosecuted for the hardships they made people of the city endure.

Upanagariy Railway Pravasi Ekata Sanstha (Mahasangh) on Friday wrote to Central Railway administration and demanded fixing of responsibility for the death of the two passengers in the Sandhurst Road incident. It also demanded a judicial probe of the Mumbra incident.

Taking to X, advocate and commuter Kanchan Ghanshani said the railway employees protest at CSMT was "unlawful" and demanded resignation of the Central Railway General Manager and the Divisional Railway Manager, Mumbai division.

"The Railway Police station at CSMT Railway station, Mumbai must also register an FIR under the relevant criminal laws, including the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), against the employees responsible for halting train operations," she wrote on X.

However, railway union leaders claimed their protest was outside the Divisional Railway Manager's office, whereas the sit-in agitation outside Motormen and Guard lobby was a spontaneous reaction of some of the employees.

During an informal interaction with mediapersons at CSMT, Dr Praveen Bajpai, president of Central Railway Mazdoor Sangh (CRMS), said members agitated outside divisional railway manager's officer, but after dispersal from there some agitated employees held a sit in protest outside the motormen lobby.

"Our members neither stopped trains nor did we stop employees from performing their duties. We did not stop anyone. The Rail Roko was not our agitation. Our agitation was only limited to gate meeting and demonstrations," Bajpai said.

Passenger association members and activists said they were not allowed to meet CR General Manager Vijay Kumar with RPF blocking entry gates to the headquarter complex. Some of them managed to meet DRM Hiresh Mina, they added. PTI KK BNM