Mumbai, Nov 13 (IANS) The Mumbai Railway Police on Thursday took suo motu cognisance of an ‘illegal’ protest staged at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) by members of the Central Railway Mazdoor Sangh (CRMS). A case has been registered at the CSMT Railway Police Station against two railway employees, identified as S.K. Dubey and Vivek Sisodia.

According to a statement released by the Mumbai Railway Police, the protest was held on November 6, demanding the withdrawal of an FIR registered against two engineers in connection with the Mumbra station incident, which claimed the lives of five people. Without obtaining prior permission, CRMS members organised the agitation at CSMT, leading to charges of unlawful assembly and violation of public order and traffic regulations.

On the day of the incident, members of CRMS held a sit-in protest outside the motorman’s lobby and the Station Manager’s office, disrupting railway operations and halting local train services for nearly an hour.

Around 4 p.m., nearly 100 to 200 railway employees gathered at Milan Hall under the leadership of CRMS president Praveen Vajpayee and later marched peacefully towards the Divisional Railway Manager’s (DRM) office. However, after the official protest concluded around 5.30 p.m., about 30 to 40 employees, led by Dubey and Sisodia, allegedly entered the motorman’s lobby at CSMT and began an unapproved sit-in protest.

The protesters reportedly blocked entry to the motormen, guards, and the Station Manager’s office using iron benches, resulting in staff being trapped inside and complete disruption of local train services from 5.41 p.m. The stoppage led to crowding and confusion among passengers on the platforms.

The agitation ended at 6.38 p.m. after assurances were given by the DRM, following which train services gradually resumed.

A senior officer stated that the CRMS protest violated existing prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which bans gatherings of five or more persons within the jurisdiction of the Railway Police Commissionerate without prior permission.

A case has been registered under Sections 189(2), 190, 127(2), 221, and 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 37(1) and 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act.

Police officials said the accused will soon be summoned for questioning. Investigators are also probing who instigated and supported the CRMS members to stage the protest within the station premises without prior approval. The investigation is currently underway.

–IANS

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