Avdhesh Dubey, famous on social media for his parody videos imitating politicians such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal, has been yet again booked by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) in Valsad for selling articles on a train allegedly without a licence. According to Valsad Railway officials, Dubey, who was illegally selling gift items on a train, was booked under RPF Act section 144 and was released late afternoon Sunday. In 2019, he was convicted by a mobile railway court and sentenced to 10-day simple imprisonment for selling articles on trains without licence, committing nuisance or using abusive or obscene language, unlawful entry among others. After his release from the Valsad RPF station, Avdhesh took to social media in a video message to accuse RPF officials of demanding money from the hawkers. “.I was travelling on a train from Surat to Valsad selling different articles, including toys and other items. Three youths dressed in plain clothes identified themselves as RPF cops and caught me and other hawkers on the train. The cops forcefully took money from the hawkers and let them go. I did not pay them as I have to take care of a 10-member family," he can be heard saying in the 1.22-minute-long video in which he has tagged the Twitter handles of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. “They (the three officers) took me to Valsad RPF police station and handed me to the RPF cops with a memo. The trio did not reveal their names but on enquiring with other cops, one of their names is Rampal Singh and posted at Mumbai Central Railway station," Dubey stated in the video. Teams from the Western Railways RPF flying squad from Mumbai Central carry out routine surveillance on trains to catch illegal hawkers and to keep an eye on other illegal activities happening on trains. “While returning on Paschim Express from Surat to Valsad, I got down at the Navsari Railway station as there was no business. I took the subsequent Gujarat Express (Ahmedabad to Mumbai) from Navsari to reach Valsad and was caught by three men posing as Railway cops," Dubey told The Indian Express. Dubey ended the video message threatening to end his life if no action is taken against the three cops as, he said, he "cannot bear the harassment of such officials". “Today again, I took the train from Valsad to Surat and on return in the afternoon, no such cops were found. I already have a railway pass. I have been doing such activities since the past 18 years as I have no other source of income,” Dubey told The Indian Express. Police sources said Dubey has to remain present at the Railway court in Surat Railway station on June 8. "If he confesses his offence, he will be released on bail," they said.
