mid-day impact >> After relentless campaign by this newspaper on need to implement stringent Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, cop finally booked under the law
Sagar Bornare's selfie with RPF inspector VG Sable
In a first, the Government Railway Police (GRP) has booked a Railway Police Force (RPF) inspector for travelling in the handicapped compartment. An alert commuter, travelling in the same coach, alerted the cops on finding RPF inspector VG Sable without even a ticket on him. According to GRP sources, Sable has been booked under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act 2016. The move follows a relentless campaign by mid-day against the menace of able commuters travelling in handicapped coaches.
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The alert commuter
Police sources said the incident took place on August 11 when the complainant, Sagar Bornare, who is 42 percent disabled, boarded the 9.04 am fast local from Thane station to go to CSMT. Bornare said, "I had barely sat down in the compartment when this person with absolutely no apparent disability hopped into the compartment. He asked me to shift a bit so he could sit. When I asked him if he had some sort of handicap, he replied in the negative. Surprised, I asked him if he had a ticket on him. But he did not have that either. In order to alert the cops, I clicked a selfie with this person and tweeted it to Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu as well as the Railway Police commissioner."
Bornare had, apparently, called up the railway helpline on 182 before taking the selfie.
Police action
GRP personnel took immediate cognisance of the complaint and booked Sable. "We have registered a case under RPWD Act 2016 Sections 91 and 95 and sent a notice to the accused. We will file the charge sheet and summon the accused to the court soon," senior inspector Ashok Bhorde of the Kurla GRP.
Not the first time
Sagar Bornare said, "I have been writing and tweeting about this menace of general passengers travelling in disabled coaches for months. It was strange that the offenders were only booked under the Railway Act and were allowed to go with a fine of R150. Finally, the GRP seems to have taken some action against this menace. All previous offenders should be charged under the RPWD Act now."
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