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Indian Express
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
BJP issues show-cause notice to UP MLA over attack on Vande Bharat passenger
The BJP on Monday issued a show-cause notice to party MLA Rajeev Singh Parichha in connection with an attack on a passenger allegedly by the legislator's associates over a seat dispute aboard the Vande Bharat Express in Jhansi district and directed him to submit an explanation within seven days. Parichha is the MLA from the Babina constituency in Jhansi. If a timely and satisfactory response is not received it will be compelled to take the 'strictest disciplinary action' against him, the party said. Videos of the incident have surfaced on social media. The notice, issued by BJP's Uttar Pradesh general secretary Govind Narayan Shukla, said information about the MLA's conduct and actions on the train had come to light through media and social media reports. The MLA's behaviour has adversely impacted the party's image and amounts to indiscipline, he added. The incident took place on June 19 while the MLA was travelling to Jhansi with his wife and son on the Bhopal-bound Vande Bharat Express. The matter came to light the next day after photos and videos of a man bleeding from the nose went viral on social media. The injured passenger was later identified as Raj Prakash, who was on his way to Bhopal. While the MLA has lodged a complaint with the police, Raj Prakash is yet to take any legal action. MLA Parichha has alleged that two unidentified passengers were causing a nuisance by sitting with their legs stretched out, blocking the passage for others. When he asked them to behave, they allegedly misbehaved with him and used abusive language, he claimed. The MLA further said the two passengers again misbehaved with him after suspecting that he had reported the matter to the railway authorities. He also claimed that when the train reached the Jhansi railway station, the two called their associates, who then misbehaved with the people who had come to receive him at the station. During their preliminary inquiry, the Government Railway Police (GRP) found that two of the MLA's seats were adjacent, while the third was located at a distance. The MLA is believed to have requested Raj Prakash to swap his seat so that his family could sit together. When Prakash refused, the MLA approached the ticket examiner to request three seats together, but the examiner expressed his inability to make any changes. On the MLA's second request, Prakash allegedly got into a heated argument with him. The police said when the train arrived at the Jhansi railway station, the MLA's associates — who were present to receive him — allegedly assaulted Raj Prakash, leaving him injured. As the matter escalated, a police team was sent to Bhopal but was unable to locate Prakash. The team, however, met GRP officials in Bhopal and collected CCTV footage from inside the train and the station platform. According to the GRP, after the train reached the Rani Kamlapati railway station in Bhopal on June 20, Prakash met officials of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the GRP but chose not to lodge a formal complaint. The Uttar Pradesh Police said they are coordinating with their counterparts in Bhopal. CCTV footage from the Rani Kamlapati railway station shows Raj Prakash getting off the train. However, footage from the CCTV cameras inside the Vande Bharat Express did not clearly capture any assault, the police claimed. 'While the visuals suggest some commotion, no act of assault is distinctly visible,' an official said. When contacted, GRP (Jhansi) Deputy Superintendent of Police Sohrab Alam said they are investigating the case based on the MLA's complaint and are in the process of collecting evidence, including electronic records, before taking any further action. Raj Prakash, however, has not filed any complaint so far, he added.
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Vande Bharat passenger allegedly assaulted in Jhansi after dispute with BJP MLA
A 50-year-old man has alleged that he was assaulted at Jhansi railway station in Uttar Pradesh by a group of men supposedly linked to Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Rajeev Singh Paricha following a dispute over seating arrangements on a train, even as the Babina MLA denied his involvement and alleged that he and his family were 'subjected to mental harassment'. A screen grab of the injured passenger. (SOURCED) Police said both the passenger, identified as Raj Prakash and Paricha, have filed separate complaints over the incident which took place on Thursday night. 'The passenger who was attacked has lodged a complaint in Bhopal,' superintendent of police, Railways, Jhansi, Vipul Srivastava said. 'I have asked Inspector GRP Jhansi Yogendra Singh to collect CCTV footage from train and Jhansi railway station. A police team has left to retrieve footage from Bhopal.' Quoting the complaint filed by Paricha, police said that the MLA was travelling to Jhansi with his wife Kamli Singh and son Shreyansh Singh in coach E-2 of the Nizamuddin–Bhopal Vande Bharat Express. They boarded train from New Delhi. Paricha said that he was allotted seat 8, while his wife and son were given seats 50 and 51, respectively. The altercation reportedly began when the passengers occupying the nearby seats 49 and 52 were sitting with their legs outstretched. This prompted the MLA to ask the two passengers, including Raj Prakash, to change their seats, the complaint said. Paricha alleged that Raj Prakash used inappropriate language and threatened his gunner when he intervened. Meanwhile, Raj Prakash, in his complaint, alleged that following the argument a group of eight people entered the train and assaulted him. The passenger, who suffered a broken nose in the assault, further alleged that the assailants were linked to the legislator. Paricha denied any involvement, stating that he and his family had deboarded the train before the incident took place. 'Our journey was disrupted, and we were subjected to mental harassment,' he said. Based on the complaint filed by the legislator, FIR has been registered against Raj Prakash under Sections 115 (2) and 352 of BNS.
