The high-end superfast Mumbai-Goa Tejas Express continues to be a victim of unruly passengers. After complaints of passengers stealing headphones from the train, reports suggest that a youth, part of a five-member group, punched an LCD screen so hard that it got damaged.
According to a Mumbai Mirror report, the incident took place on June 10, barely a fortnight after passengers stole headphones from the train on its maiden journey in May. At that time too, railway officials had alleged that some unruly passengers had attempted to crack the LCD screens, and a couple of screens had scratch marks on them.
The accused, 27-year-old Nandadeep Keer, was caught on the basis of CCTV camera footage, and was detained and produced before a court on Tuesday. He was slapped with a fine of Rs 25,000.
After the railway officials noticed the smashed LCD screen, they inspected the CCTV footage of the particular compartment, which showed that after the train departed from Thane, the coach was nearly empty but for a few passengers, including the five youths.
Minutes before the five got up to alight from the train at Dadar station, one of them punched the LED screen attached to the seat in front of him.
The officials then collected the seat booking list from IRCTC and nearly all the passengers who were in the coach at that time were summoned.
“The problem was that most passengers change their seats. It was very difficult to be sure that the passenger who damaged the LCD screen was the same in whose name the seat was booked,” Satish Memon, inspector-in-charge of Dadar RPF post was quoted by Mumbai Mirror as saying.
The police questioned each of the passengers they had summoned, and also tried to match their faces with the one captured by the CCTV.
On Monday, the five friends came to Dadar post and the police identified Keer as the one who had punched the screen. During questioning, Keer claimed that he hit the LCD screen as it was not functioning properly.
Produced at the metropolitan magistrate court, he was made to pay up a fine of Rs 25,000 — Rs 22,000, the cost of the LCD, and Rs 3,000 as fine under section 357 of the CrPC. He was also kept waiting till the "court rose for the day" as penalty.
