Shiv Sena MLA Allegedly “Held Up” Train Demanding Berth of Choice

Officers of Central Railway have demanded that Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis take action against Hemant Patil.

Shiv Sena MLA, Hemant Patil. (Photo courtesy: YouTube Screengrab)

A Shiv Sena MLA and his supporters allegedly “held up” an Express train at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) in Mumbai for almost an hour demanding that he be given a berth of his choice. This allegedly caused inconvenience to 2,000 passengers and affected the schedule of other trains.

The incident occurred on Wednesday night when Hemant Patil, a legislator from Nanded, did not allow Devgiri Express to depart till 10 pm by repeatedly pulling the chain after he got upset over being allotted a ‘side’ berth in a II AC coach.

<i>Netaji </i>(Patil) and his men held up the train for almost an hour, which is a serious offence under the Railway Act. Every time the train moved ahead, <i>netaji</i> and his supporters kept pulling the chain and the 9:10 pm Devgiri Express finally left CST around 10 pm.

<b>Senior Railway Officer</b>

Officers of Central Railway (CR) have demanded that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagde take action against Patil.

Sena is a member of the ruling BJP-led alliance in Maharashtra. The MLA stuck to his demand that he be given a berth of his choice but the officials refused to consider it.

When asked whether CR would constitute an inquiry into the incident, the senior officer shot back and asked:

Are you saying that we are at fault ? It’s <i>netaji</i> (poltician) who is at fault, it was Patil who did not abide by the law. Why should we constitute an inquiry? Rather, our Chief Minister should constitute an inquiry if he can take cognisance of the inconvenience caused to 2,000 passengers or the Assembly Speaker should take strict note of the MLA’s conduct.

Another senior railway officer said Patil’s “irresponsible behaviour” delayed two other long distant trains – The CST-Mangalore and the Siddehswar Express by 15-20 minutes.

He said:

Such an act from a public representative, who claims to be serving people, ought to be stopped and penal action against him would definitely set a precedent.

In an interview with CNN IBN, Patil defended his actions and said, he pulled the chain since the coach had a rat infestation and the toilets did not have any water.

I represent people, it’s not a first time I’m protesting.

<b>Hemant Patil, MLA from Nanded in Maharashtra</b>

(With inputs from PTI.)