Booked over 13 years ago for fighting over seat in Mumbai local, two sent to one-day imprisonment

According to the prosecution, on January 6, 2005, the informant in the case, Anil Pophale, a police officer, boarded a Titwala-bound train on the Central Line at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus at 7.30 pm. A co-passenger had occupied a seat and blocked another for his friend. When Pophale asked him to give him space, the passenger refused and said that he was waiting for his friend. An argument ensued between the two and another man joined them and began threatening and abusing Pophale. The passenger also made a call to someone on the phone, following which four others joined him. Pophale told the court that the six men began beating him, due to which he sustained injuries. Meanwhile, a policeman entered the compartment and the accused ran away. Two of them — Rashid Thani and Wasim Khan — were caught and booked under various sections, including voluntarily causing hurt.

After the trial court sentenced the two to one month’s imprisonment, the men approached the sessions court against the order. They submitted that the police had not examined any independent witnesses. They also claimed that while the informant had said that he was threatened with being thrown out of the train, the train was not moving at that time. They also claimed that the informant had not given any description of the accused.

The court said that as the incident had taken place in the compartment of a local train which was to depart immediately, the possibility of finding independent witnesses was weak as other co-passengers who witnessed the incident may have gone in the local train to their respective destinations. It further said that there was no reason for the informant to falsely implicate these accused.