Kalyan youth shows train bullies who’s boss

24-yr-old Raju Pillai gets bullies arrested after he was hit and pushed off train by them on Tuesday for standing at ‘their spot’

NILESH NIKADE

Afew months ago, a scuffle over standing on the footboard at the door of a local train compartment resulted in the death of a Dombivli resident — he was thrown out by other commuters. In a similar incident on Tuesday, a youth from Kalyan almost became another casualty after he was hit and pushed out of the train by a group of commuters for standing ‘at their regular spot’.
But this young man refused to be a silent victim and got one of them behind bars.
Raju Pillai, 24, an employee with a bank and resident of Kalyan, travels to Nerul every day. On Tuesday, Pillai boarded the 8.22 am fast local from Kalyan and managed to find a spot near the compartment door. Pillai said, “At Dombivli, a group of seven men boarded from the track side of the train and started pushing commuters who were standing near the door telling us to get off at Thane, the next station. Suddenly, one of them hit me on the face with his bag claiming that it was the group’s regular spot and that I should move.”
When Pillai argued that he was there first, the group started abusing and threatening him. “I objected to their bullying and said I had equal right to stand at the spot. They said it was their regular train and their reserved space, as they had been travelling on it for 16 years. One of them then held my arms. I was scared he would throw me off the train,” Pillai said. He decided it was prudent to keep his cool but was shocked when the men pushed him off the train at Thane.
But Pillai was not about to let the train bullies get away with it. On Wednesday, he approached the Dombivli Government Railway Police. B P Kardel, Senior Police Inspector, Dombivli GRP, said, “We decided to set a trap for the group on Thursday and asked Pillai to identify the group members. Our men in civil clothes waited for the fast train to arrive. As soon as the group tried to climb from the opposite direction, we caught them on the tracks.”
However, of the seven men detained, only Naresh Shetty, a Dombivli resident, was booked for manhandling Pillai.
A K Sharma, Commissioner GRP has asked commuters to file complaints against such groups. “We promise to take action against such. We can be reached on 23759201.”

Raju Pillai (above) was held by the arms and threatened by Naresh Shetty (right)

Source: MM

We need more Such youth.