Man charged for travelling in coach for disabled people in Mumbai local

A man and woman travelling in the compartment noticed that the man who had boarded it at Borivli, was able-bodied. File pic

In a rare instance, the Government Railway Police (GRP) have registered a case against an able-bodied man for travelling in the compartment meant for the physically handicapped, on a local train on Saturday.

According to police sources, the incident took place between Borivli and Dahisar stations around 8 pm. A man and woman travelling in the compartment noticed that the man who had boarded it at Borivli, appeared to be able-bodied. The police said they asked the man, later identified as P P Walverkar, an estate agent, for his identity card to prove his disability but he refused to show it. They demanded that he get off the train but the man did not pay heed.

After the argument, the duo pulled the chain of the Virar-bound train to stop it, and insisted Walverkar be taken to the Borivli GRP station at Dahisar station. Officers of the Railway Police Force (RPF) had begun to penalise Walverkar for boarding the compartment, but the duo insisted he be taken to the Borivli GRP station for an FIR against him.

Anil Kadam, senior police inspector of Borivli GRP, said that the complainant duo insisted that Walverkar be charged under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. "Generally, RPF officials fine able-bodied people who travel in the compartment for the handicapped, but this is a rare incident, where the duo insisted that their rights had been violated and so we registered an FIR," he said.

He said they will prepare a charge sheet and produce Walverkar in court.