Bengaluru, Sept 18: A consumer court in the city has directed the South Western Railway (SWR) to pay over Rs 4.47 lakh to a woman passenger who accused the utility of failing to protect her belongings from thieves.
The incident occurred on the evening of February 21, 2014 when Ramila Devi, 50, from Mysuru, along with her husband, daughter and mother-in-law boarded the S10 compartment of Garib Nawaz Express at Bengaluru City railway station. The family was headed to a relative’s wedding in Rajasthan and planned to disembark at Falna station.
Devi was drinking water as the train started moving. Suddenly, a man seated on the top berth, jumped down and fled with her handbag containing 488gms of gold and cash worth Rs 90,000 placed next to her. She and her daughter chased the man but he managed to flee after jumping out of the train.
Meanwhile, Devi’s husband Shantilal pulled the emergency chain, bringing the train to a halt. They alerted the Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) who allegedly told them they could lodge a complaint with the Government Railway Police (GRP) within 30 days of the crime and advised them to continue the journey as the delay was putting other passengers to hardship.
Shantilal called his son in Mysuru, who soon approached GRP at Bengaluru City railway station. As cops refused to register a case, Devi cut the train journey short in Mumbai, flew down to Bengaluru and attempted to get GRP to register the case. Police registered an FIR after six days and claimed to have started a probe.
With the Mysuru-based family made to run around for nine months but no progress being seen in the case, a dejected Devi approached the Bangalore IVth Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum on November 27, 2014 with a complaint against the general manager, SWR and the divisional railway manager, SWR, Bengaluru.
She blamed the railway authorities for failing to protect her belongings and allowing intruders inside a reserved compartment which resulted in the theft. She demanded over Rs 18 lakh as compensation.
Railways’ version dismissed
Meanwhile, the railways claimed the emergency chain was pulled to accommodate a relative of Devi who had reached the station late and was running to catch the train. They said no such theft had occurred , adding that the on-duty TTE and guard had responded to the claim on the day.
The litigation lasted for three years and 10 months, at the end of which the judges dismissed the railways’ version of the relative running to catch the train as ‘imaginary’ and baseless. They also criticised Devi for being careless with her bag.
In its verdict on September 4, the forum held the railways responsible for not putting in place adequate security measures in a reserved compartment and GRP for not making progress in the investigation. Finally, the court ruled that the SWR GM and Bengaluru’s divisional railway manager should pay Rs 4,42,100 to Devi, a portion of the loss suffered, and Rs 5,000 towards court expenses within six weeks of receiving the order.
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