A 72-year-old woman has accused Railway Protection Force personnel of assaulting her son and grandson at Anand Vihar Railway Station in Delhi, claiming they were abused with religious slurs and treated like criminals. The incident allegedly took place on January 27 when Basiran Bibi was leaving for West Bengal.
According to Basiran Bibi, she had reached the station around 6:30 pm with her son, Sheikh Israfil, 38, and her 17-year-old grandson, Sheikh Salim. Israfil had purchased platform tickets while she bought a general ticket, as no reservation was available. Around 7:30 pm, when the Anand Vihar Haldia Superfast Express arrived, Israfil entered the coach to help his mother find a seat.
In her complaint, Basiran alleged that a group of RPF constables suddenly hit and slapped her son without any provocation and forcibly removed him from the train. “While inside the train, a group of RPF constables suddenly hit and slapped my son without any provocation and forcibly deboarded him,” she wrote. She further claimed that when she tried to intervene, the constables pushed and assaulted her and “touched me rudely with wrong intention.”
The family has alleged that the RPF personnel called them “Bangladeshi,” “katwa,” and “mulla,” and chanted “Jai Shri Ram” while assaulting Israfil. “The constable touched my son’s beard, chanted Jai Shri Ram and beat him, violating our constitutional rights,” Basiran said in her letter. She claimed that both her son and grandson were detained for nearly three hours at the RPF post, and that their money, mobile phones and platform tickets were seized.
Salim allegedly lost consciousness after being beaten. The family said they called the emergency helpline 112 and later visited three government hospitals before medical examinations were conducted at Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital. “This incident has caused us severe physical injuries, mental trauma and humiliation,” Basiran wrote, requesting registration of an FIR and preservation of CCTV footage.
Basiran has sent complaint letters to the President of India, the Prime Minister, the National Human Rights Commission, the National Commission for Women and the Director General of the RPF, seeking a fair and impartial investigation.
Speaking about the incident, Israfil told The Quint, “That day, we feared we would be framed in a terror case and rot in jail for life.” He alleged that he was forced to sign a blank paper at the RPF post and later made to pay Rs 100 in court without being informed properly about the case. “If I had known it was a fine, I would have refused because I did not commit any crime,” he said.
When contacted, RPF Inspector Shailendra Kumar at Anand Vihar denied the allegations of religious slurs or assault. He said that several people had occupied seats inside a coach and were preventing other passengers from sitting. According to him, the constables removed them and registered a case under Section 155 of the Railway Act 1989, which deals with unauthorized occupation of reserved seats. He said the young man paid the fine and retrieved his belongings. The RPF has stated that an internal inquiry is underway, but did not share further details.
The case has once again raised concerns about alleged anti-Muslim prejudice within law enforcement agencies. A 2019 study by Common Cause and the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies Lokniti, had found that about half of surveyed police personnel believed Muslims were naturally prone to violence, highlighting bias within the system.
Separately, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recently expressed concern over the treatment of Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam, citing allegations of discrimination, forced evictions and hate speech during the NRC process.
Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee alleged that migrant labourers from West Bengal were being targeted in BJP-ruled states for speaking Bengali, calling it an attack on their identity and dignity.
