Mumbai Police told not to travel in bogies for the disabled

Mumbai: In a bid to stop its officers from illegally travelling in suburban train bogeys reserved for physically challenged commuters, the Mumbai police on November 24 issued a circular, warning that such actions would invite strict disciplinary measures including a year-long bar on increments.

The circular came in the wake of the police finding that eight cops were recently caught travelling in bogeys meant for physically-challenged passengers. The errant officers have been identified as Sandip Vadile (RTO department), Deepak Ahire (Pant Nagar police station), Sanjay Rajguru (traffic department), Parag Tembire (Naigaon police), Shailendra Patil (Kalachowki police station), Nitin Pardeshi (Mulund police station), Mahesh Torne (RTO department) and Tukaram Sakpal (L.T. Marg police station).

Speaking about transgressions by police officers, Sharad Chaudhary, a Central Railway ticket collector, said, “We have seen many policemen boarding the compartment reserved for physically challenged people despite railway announcements mentioning that it’s not allowed. I have faced many situations where errant police officers threw tantrums when asked to pay fines. I heard about the Mumbai police’s decision to stop such incidents from occurring again and I think it will definitely reduce the frequency of police getting into that compartment.”

Mr Ahire, who was caught two weeks ago when he was travelling from Thane to Ghatkopar, said, “I was very ill that day. I caught the train in a hurry and got into the reserved compartment by mistake. I paid a Rs 240 fine to the ticket collector who had entered the compartment. It’s not fair. I had to pay a fine for my mistake.”

Mr Pardeshi, on the other hand, said, “I hardly travel by train. I don’t even know when I got into that reserved compartment. I will approach my senior to solve this problem.”

The circular came in the wake of reports that eight policemen were recently caught travelling in bogeys meant for the physically-challenged. The circular has warned cops of strict disciplinary measures.