Shocking Brutality at Bangalore Railway Station

This is the email I received just now. Though I am not sure whether it is true or not, with all the telephone number and detail, I hope someone could find out what really happened and give him help.


Hi,


A shocking and outrageous incident happened three days ago with one of my
juniors from IIM Lucknow. This happened at Bangalore Railway Station.The
details of the incident are posted below.


He is seeking help from anyone with contacts in media to as that will
probably ensure speedy justice and also help in bringing culprits to books.
Anyone with willingness to help can reach him at 9886179319 or 30933067.


Thanks and regards,


Ashish


-------------------------------------


Hi!


I would like to bring to notice a certain injustice that I have subjected
to at the Bangalore Railway Station (Majestic). On September 30 (Friday),
2005, I had been to the station to see off my fiance and her mother. They
took the Karnataka Express (Train #2627) to Jhansi at 6:30 pm.


On my way out I was asked to present my platform ticket by a railway
official. On producing the same, the TT turned around and told me "What if
I say that you haven't given me the ticket?" Before I could react, he along
with his colleague pushed me into the adjacent enquiry cabin and physically
manhandled me. I was slapped several times, my spectacles were grabbed and
deliberately crushed by foot, and my phone was flung away from me. The RPF
comprising of one RPF and four constables, appeared on the scene. The
surrounding public was whisked away. None of the railway police officials
cared to listen to me and they started hitting me indiscriminately with
lathis. They dragged me out, and all the 4 constables continued hitting me
with lathis from Platform 1 to Platform 3/5, till we reached the station
master's cabin. Racist abuses and threats were made on the way. At the
station master's cabin, I was told that I have been charged with a
non-bailable offence and would be behind bars for 15 days.


Not for a single moment was I allowed to speak. All of a sudden a stranger
came to the scene and he claimed that he was there to help me. Having lost
all my physical strength and mental senses, I was happy to see some sort of
help. He, claiming to be V Srinivas from Infosys, talked to the officials
and the railway police in Kannada. He told me that the only way I was to
get out was if I was willing to pay my way through. Being in no state to
make a rational choice, I gave him my ATM card and pin. He took one of the
RPF chaps along with him and said he would clear the matter. He returned
some time later saying that everything was okay now.


I was asked to sign a statement which said that I hit the police and TT in
a drunken state. I refused. Finally, they pressurized me to write that I
did not produce a platform ticket when asked. I wrote the same and then V
Srinivas took me out of the station. He joined me in an auto and took me to
the ICICI ATM at Anand Rao circle. He withdrew Rs. 15000 from my ATM and
got back. he took the cash under the pretext that while helping me he had
left his wallet in the train he had left behind and that he would return
the same through his ICICI Internet account. Having broken down mentally I
did not realise that I was being cheated. He then took me to a Samsung
showroom and tried purchasing a cellphone worth Rs. 18500 with my card. It
was only then that I realised what was happening. I grabbed my card back,
caught him by the collar, snatched my cash that lay in his pocket, and got
into a running auto.


I have now realized that all of this was a plan. There is a strong nexus
between the railway officials, the railway police and the fraudster. The
railway officials identify a victim who they think is well-to-do, the RPF
beat that individual till he has no physical or mental well-being. Then
this fraud chap comes on to the scene, takes advantage of the situation,
and takes all your cash away. Also, this series of events generally occurs
on the last day of the month as they know that the salary gets credited on
this day. (This strikes me now because the self-proclaimed Infy employee, V
Srinivas, clearly asked me whether I had received my salary. He said that
he just wanted to find out if there was cash enough to tackle the case.)


Now three days hence, I have tried to run from pillar to post. I have been
forced to miss office hours in my effort to get justice. But I don't want
to give up the fight midway. If any of you are in the media, or have
friends/relatives who are in the industry, I'd like to speak with them
about this in greater detail. I can be reached on 09886179319 or
08030933067. I believe it would catalyze my efforts.


Also, please pass this email to all the people who reside in Bangalore, so
that they don't fall into the same trap.


Regards,


Nimish V Adani


IIML Batch of 2003


ITBHU Batch of 2001

I find this "story" hard to believe.

Ditto. Phantom, wha you think?.

This is a true story! The victim was a senior of one of my colleagues here at IIMK. The story has been published in Times of India Bangalore edition.. here is the link for the same..

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/a...ow/1253489.cms

yeah this story was in the newspapers and apparently some action has been taken
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanhe...6342005106.asp

yaya, i just checked "the times of india, bangalore" for today, on page 3

"Railway top brass on Wednesday suspended six employees including four RPF personnel"

"Eyewitnesses including shopkeepers on the platform will be questioned"

Even if it were printed in a newspaper, i find it hard to believe. all we have is an allegation. Where is the response? We'll have to give it a few days. But then, anything is possible in India.

Goacanuk, crlvr, you guys find THIS hard to believe? Is it hard to believe that government officials are corrupt? That scams like these happen every day? That racism is quite common in India (especially towards eastern-asian people, "chinkies")?

I find this absolutely not hard to believe.

priyamav, i'll be the first to admit that the govt official in india are generally corrupt. For them to except a some baksheesh to get your job done is normal. For them to get violent and beat someone up for no apparent reason, sounds a little far fetched. Even if it happened, there are two sides to a story. All I am suggesting is to hear the other side of the story. Police brutality is just wrong. However, it occurs all over the world.

Govt jobs in India are hard to come by and are treasured opportunities. I find it hard to believe that these railway employees would put their job on the line by doing something like this.

If you would follow the daily newspapers in India, you would not find this story hard to believe. Actually, if I would have read this in the Indian newspaper I wouldn't be that 'surprised'.

But you are right, there may be an other side to the story. But considering it has been published in several papers and as they have picked up 6 suspects, my first reaction would not be that this 'story' is made up...but then again, truth is very hard to find in India (anywhere in the world actually)

And what about the victim? He has a very high paying job and is a highly educated fellow.. and mind you this is not an isolated incident in Bangalore. Hordes of proffessionals come to this city for work and for outsiders are routinely harasses by the police and the bureaucracy. This time around they targetted a wrong person.. a well networked individual with impeccable credentials..

http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11117

We are a democracy.. but Police brutality is routine.. and the reason why most victims are not assaulted is that they chose to pay up and keep quiet.. This person chose to protest and hence.. was brutalized..

Good link, Crimson...was just reading the thread. All sorts of other stories of police brutality come up.

Here is the latest: http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanhe...6342005106.asp

I am not saying that the guy made up the story about getting beat up. But, I am questioning his claimed innocence. Although the alleged police's physical action is extreme, is it possible that the "victim" never had a platform ticket and may have been disrespectful to the cops on his way out?

Even if he didn't have a ticket, and was rude on top of it, the beating and the bakshish of 15,000 wouldn't be an appropriate answer, would it...of course that could be a lie too, and then he made the whole thing up...but then why would he make the whole thing up, and then go to all sorts of media + involve the police and railway chief...

The point I was trying to make is that this sort of behavior from police in India is not uncommon. Things like this happen all the time. So when reading this story with knowing that, all I am saying is that this story is not hard to believe. Even if maybe the 'beating'-part is exagerated...this kind of thing is quite 'normal' in India...