In a major security breach in the Delhi Metro, a 65-year-old woman managed to carry an axe inside a coach and tried to attack a lady commuter with it.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which secures the Delhi Metro network, has suspended the on-duty jawan who allowed the woman to carry the small axe, official sources said. An inquiry into has been ordered into the incident.
The incident occurred on Thursday evening at Sultanpur Metro station. The woman wielded the axe inside the coach after she had a tiff with a lady co-passenger over a seat, the sources said.
The woman, who was going to Huda City Centre, got into a quarrel with the co-passenger over a sea in the all-women compartment . Enraged at being requested to take some other seat, she took out the axe. But she was soon overpowered by other female passengers, they added.
An witness recalled the incident on Youthkiawaaz: “Soon after we crossed Qutab Minar (Metro station), there was a loud quarrel between a couple of passengers – a woman was being aggressive using abusive language to others on board (sic)... People tried to calm her down. One polite lady asked her to sit down and tried to calm her. In return, the woman started swearing at her, “How dare you touch me?”... Just seconds before we reached Sultanpur station, the woman pulled out the arm-length axe with a sharp blade from her bag and tried to attack people on board.”
Breach of Security
The axe being carried by the woman was detected during the X-ray scanning of her bag by the CISF jawan at Hauz Khas Metro station. But he allowed her to carry the axe considering its small size and after her pleas that she is a poor labourer who uses it for petty work.
While the axe was detected by the on-duty CISF jawan at the entrance of the station itself, he probably allowed her to take the axe along owing to her age. He may have also factored in her claim that she is a poor woman... An inquiry has been ordered.Senior CISF Official
The CISF later intercepted the old lady, identified only as M Dutta, a resident of Gurgaon. She was handed her over to local police, which apparently allowed her to go after counselling.
The CISF has taken the incident seriously and sought to beef up security protocols in the Metro network, which carries almost 26 lakh people daily.
Last year, a man had entered the Metro with a country-made pistol and shot himself within the station area.
A few months back, a man had killed a woman with a sharp weapon just outside the security hold area at a station in Gurgaon.
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