BJP issues show-cause notice to UP MLA over attack on Vande Bharat passenger

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.