Woman slapped by unknown man at Mulund station; suffers broken nose

Ankita Dhuri. Pic/Ashish Gupta

A woman railway commuter was left with a broken nasal bone after being slapped by an unknown train traveller while she was at the Mulund railway station platform. The January 28 incident left the 25-year-old woman unconscious, reported this paper.

A commuter in a crowded train apparently reached out and slapped the woman who was waiting at the train platform. The hit was very hard and she was taken to a hospital for treatment.

It is deplorable that commuters think it is fun to do these acts. Women are targetted on the Railways. It is women who bear the brunt of water balloons and stone-throwers during festivals. Women are often hit even when they are on the footboard of trains by commuters in the crowd on the platform, for a lark or cheap thrills.

This is molestation and an attempt to murder, pure and simple. It needs to be treated with the gravitas it deserves. Hitting somebody during such crowded commutes may result in death, for they can slip under the train in both cases. This culprit, when caught, has to be treated as a murderer, not a commuter indulging in some light-hearted antic, as these are often passed off as. In this instance, it looks difficult to nab the culprit, but that does not mean there should not be utmost efforts put in towards that aim.

The importance of sharp CCTV surveillance cannot be reiterated enough, it is this that can help in so many crimes of this nature. Warning boards at stations may also be helpful as a deterrent to others trying to indulge in something like this. In the end, it is education, family values and upbringing which count. Punitive measures should be extreme here, even as we focus on inculcating respect for others, particularly women, in our system.

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