The Hindu : Front Page : RPF constable fires in the air

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Tuesday, Jul 29, 2008
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RPF constable fires in the air

Staff Reporter

TTE got upset over identity check
SRMU members free him from custody

TIRUCHI: A Railway Protection Force constable reportedly fired a shot in the air with his pistol at Tiruchi Railway Junction in the early hours of Monday to scare away supporters of a travelling ticket examiner (TTE) who was held for questioning.

The alleged manhandling of the constable by the TTE while travelling in the Pearl City Express was under investigation. In the scuffle that ensued, nearly 50 railway employees belonging to a trade union freed the TTE, Raghuraman, from the RPF custody. According to sources, the constable had asked for the identity of the TTE after waking him up since the latter was not in uniform and was occupying the berth meant for TTE. RPF sources said the constables posted for escort were on a high vigil in the wake of bomb blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad.

Enraged, the latter was said to have manhandled the constable after declining to reveal his identity.

The constable alerted the authorities at the Tiruchi Junction and a group of RPF personnel overpowered the TTE who was later found to belong to Chennai Division, and took him for questioning. The TTE was said to have passed on information about his altercation with RPF personnel to local representatives of Southern Railway Mazdoor Union. Demanding release of the TTE, the union members, RPF sources alleged, indulged in violence, prompting the constable to fire in the air. The TTE and the constable were admitted to the Golden Rock Railway Hospital and the Annal Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital respectively. Both have filed complaints with the Cantonment police.

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