Man climbs train rooftop at Kalyan station; delays services

The hustle and bustle at Kalyan station reached a climax yesterday after a man climbed to the top of a CST-bound train. His antics caused train services to be delayed for over 20 minutes, leaving commuters flustered.

Dramatic scene
Irked by the delay and with the man Ajay Maukinsha simply refusing to budge, a few passengers with railway police authorities started to climb up the train. Around eight to 10 men scrambled up, some holding sticks in their hand.

Crowds gathered at the platform when they noticed Ajay Maukinsha on top of the train. Afraid he would be electrocuted, they pleaded with Ajay to get down, but to no avail

Seeing that men were climbing up, Ajay started pacing the roof of the train but soon the men cornered him. They then took hold of him and started to thrash him. Finally, after giving him a sound beating, the group held Ajay's leg and dragged him down from the roof. Even after the attack, Ajay did not want to accept defeat and soon slid to the end of the roof and hung on to the roof of the platform. He was then pushed off after which he was arrested. After the dust had settled, and the crowds dispersed, the 40-year-old was let off with a fine of Rs 300.

Ajay's antics on top of the train did not stop and soon commuters got angry. A few of them climbed on to the roof, accompanied by the railway police authorities. They grabbed Ajay and started to pound him mercilessly

For passenger Swapnil Bhor, who was able to capture the theatrics of the man on his phone, the day began as any other normal day. Bhor boarded his routine train from Badlapur at 9.25 am but at Kalyan, the train had an unusually long halt. "I was sitting inside and the train halted at Kalyan at 9.47 am. I heard people shouting, ‘come down, come down.' Perplexed, I got off the train and saw a man running on the rooftop of the train.

The men then grabbed Ajay's leg in an attempt to get him off the roof. He was finally pushed on to the platform where he was arrested. Video/Swapnil Bhor

Bhor added that Ajay ignored the pleas of fellow passengers. "He had a stick in his hands. We were afraid that he would be electrocuted. Fortunately, officials had switched off the electricity." The pleas went unheard, and passengers who were being forced to wait at the station began getting angry and soon some of them clambered up the train.

Railway Police Force (RPF) officials soon followed the passengers up on the roof. Another passenger, Sachin Pawar, said, "Initially, no one climbed up but when he refused to come down, a few commuters and some railway authorities scrambled up." A group of around eight men then began to beat up Ajay. After he was thrashed, they pushed him down.

No space in train
Later, a case was filed against Ajay by the Kalyan RPF. Ajay, a resident of Jharkhand, was in the city to meet his relatives in Thane. Ajay told the authorities, "I was on my way to my relative's home in Thane and the train was too crowded. So, I decided to climb onto the train and travel on top. But, suddenly, I heard people shouting at me and I got scared."

An RPF official said that Ajay was new to the city and didn't know that he couldn't travel on the roof of the train, added that he wasn't under the influence of drugs, contrary to what people were saying and was a daily wageworker. Ajay was arrested under Section 156 of the Railway Act for travelling on the rooftop and was let off after he paid a fine of Rs 300.

Alok Bohra, senior divisional security commissioner, RPF (CR)
We have been doing drives to save lives but people do not take us seriously. When we came to know of a man travelling on the top of the train, we switched off the current to save his life. He was arrested and released after prosecution