MUMBAI: A senior booking clerk with Central Railway was arrested by Government Railway Police (GRP) on Monday for assaulting and inappropriately touching a young woman after a dispute with her and her brother over loose change. A railway court released him on bail.
The complainant lives in Ghatkopar. Her 33-year-old brother had come down from their hometown in West Bengal to visit her.On June 1, he was to travel back home in a long-distance train. She accompanied him to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) to bid him farewell.
Police said her brother waited in the queue to purchase a ticket in a general coach of a long-distance train. The cost of the ticket came to Rs 440. “Her brother offered a Rs 500 currency note. But the booking clerk refused to accept it and asked him to get exact change. The complainant intervened and said that it was the booking clerk’s job to arrange for change. This sparked an altercation between them,” said a police officer.
Furious, the brother-sister duo approached the Railway Protection Force (RPF) post at LTT and complained about the booking clerk’s behaviour. The RPF summoned him and tried to sort out the matter. “The clerk’s colleagues had accompanied him to the RPF post and they apologised to the victim. Just then, the clerk stormed out of the RPF post and slapped the victim. He also used expletives at her,” said a police officer.

On Sunday, the woman approached Kurla GRP and lodged a complaint of “outraging modesty” against the booking clerk. As he was on duty, he was served a notice by the police and was arrested on Monday.
Police said the 42-year-old accused has a prior history of assaulting passengers.
In 2023, he was booked after he had a dispute with a passenger and assaulted him badly, impacting his hearing ability. He had also smashed the commuter’s phone.