A dispute over a seat on the Vande Bharat Express led to a violent assault involving a BJP MLA’s associates. The incident, caught on CCTV, occurred near Jhansi.
A passenger on a Vande Bharat Express train was thrashed after he allegedly refused to exchange seats with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Rajeev Singh from Babina in Jhansi.
The incident happened on the New Delhi-Bhopal Vande Bharat Express on the evening of June 19.
A CCTV video of the incident, widely shared on social media, showed a group of passengers attacking a man who was seated near the automated door of the compartment.
Later, Singh lodged a non-cognizable report (NCR) against the passenger.
In his complaint, Singh alleged that while travelling with his wife and son, a co-passenger behaved in an indecent manner. When objected to, the man allegedly misbehaved with his family and later called others at Jhansi station, who also behaved abusively.
According to initial accounts, the clash allegedly began when the passenger refused to vacate a seat upon being asked, allegedly by Singh or his supporters.
The passenger was later assaulted, with the attackers believed to be linked to the MLA.
Commenting on the matter, the Government Railway Police (GRP) said the altercation happened over changing seats and objectionable sitting posture inside the train.
The situation escalated at Jhansi station, where the passenger was allegedly assaulted by some individuals linked to the ruling party MLA.
Railway Superintendent of Police (Jhansi) Vipul Kumar Srivastava told reporters that the assaulted passenger had earlier indicated he would file a complaint after reaching Bhopal.
