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“That day, we feared we would be framed in a terror case and rot in jail for life.”
These are the words of Israfil, son of Basiran Bibi, recalling the incident at Anand Vihar Railway Station. Seventy-two year-old Basiran Bibi was heading from Delhi to West Bengal on 27 January. After her husband's death, she was the head of the household, compelled to travel for ongoing SIR proceedings in West Bengal.
Her son, Sheikh Israfil (38) and grandson, Sheikh Salim (17), accompanied her to Anand Vihar Railway Station to see her off. They had the platform tickets, while Basiran Bibi purchased a general ticket due to no reservation availability.
Around 7:30 PM, the Anand Vihar-Haldia Superfast Express arrived at the platform. Israfil entered the coach to help his mother find a seat.
But an RPF constable present there allegedly began beating him and forcibly dragged him out. When grandson Salim started recording the incident on his mobile, another RPF constable reportedly brutally assaulted him as well.
The family alleged they were called ‘Bangladeshi’ ‘Katwa’ ‘Mulla’ and subjected to religious slurs. Israfil and Salim were held in custody for about three hours, during which their money and mobiles were seized.
Basiran has written a complaint letter to the President, Prime Minister, NHRC Chairman, National Commission for Women, Director General of RPF and other relevant authorities following the incident.
What Does the Complaint Letter Say?
In her complaint, Basiran wrote: “My son Israfil had entered the coach to arrange a seat for me. While inside the train, a group of RPF constables/SI suddenly hit and slapped my son without any provocation and forcibly deboarded him from the train. When I came to help him, the same constables pushed and assaulted me and touched me rudely with wrong intentions."
She continued, "My son and grandson were also beaten by the RPF constables during the incident. Their money, mobile phone and platform ticket were snatched and kept by them. Both of them were illegally detained for nearly three hours, treated like criminals and released the next day.”
She further stated in the complaint that the incident caused severe physical injuries, mental trauma and humiliation to her family.
“This incident has caused us severe physical injuries, mental trauma and humiliation. Such behaviour from RPF personnel is unacceptable and against the law. The constable touched my son's beard, chanted 'Jai ShrI Ram' and beat him, violating our constitutional rights. They called me 'Bangladeshi,' 'katwa mulla," she wrote.
Basiran also alleged that her minor grandson Salim was beaten so severely by the police that he lost consciousness and later had to be hospitalized.
We spoke with Basiran's son, Israfil. He said they pleaded with the RPF to let them go, but the officers took them to the station post. As a result, Basiran could not travel to West Bengal on 27 January. She made the trip only a week later.
Israfil said he visited Anand Vihar police station on 30 January to file an FIR in the case. ASI Manoj there recorded his statement and assured him: "We'll do whatever we can." But no FIR has been registered yet against the RPF constables.
What Does RPF Say?
When this reporter contacted the RPF for their statement, Inspector Shailendra Kumar at Anand Vihar RPF post stated that the constables did not use any religious slurs against them or call them ‘Bangladeshi.’
When asked about the alleged assault, he outrightly denied it. He explained that several people had come to drop off a passenger and were occupying a coupe inside the coach, preventing other travellers from sitting. Seeing this, RPF constables removed them from the coach, took them to the post, seized their phones and money and registered a case under Section 155 of the Railway Act 1989.
What is Section 155 of Railway Act 1989?
If any passenger (a) having entered a compartment wherein no berth or seat has been reserved by a railway administration for his use, or (b) having unauthorisedly occupied a berth or seat reserved by a railway administration for the use of another passenger, refuses to leave it when required to do so by any railway servant authorised in this behalf, such railway servant may remove him or cause him to be removed, with the aid of any other person, from the compartment, berth or seat, as the case may be, and he shall also be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees.
If any passenger resists the lawful entry of another passenger into a compartment not reserved for the use of the passenger resisting, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees.
The RPF inspector added that the young man paid the fine and retrieved his money and phone.
When we requested CCTV footage from that day, the officer said they could not provide it. Regarding Basiran's complaint, he noted that RPF is conducting an internal inquiry, with details unavailable at this time.
'RPF Forced Me to Sign a Blank Paper': Basiran's Son
Israfil claimed that he has no knowledge of the case filed against him by RPF. Two days later, an RPF constable summoned him to the magistrate's office, where they took Rs 100 from him and returned his money and phone. He said that if he had known it was a fine, he would have refused as he did not commit any crime.
He also alleged they were targeted due to their religious identity and forced to sign a blank paper at the RPF post.
Israfil demands a fair investigation, identification and suspension of three errant RPF constables. Failure to do so, he says, would be a grave injustice.
A Muslim family was booked without proper inquiry, fined, and released. This incident raises a question: Is there prejudice against Muslims within the Railway Protection Force?
Allegations of Anti-Muslim Prejudices Among Police Personnel
In 2019, A study by Common Cause- Centre for the study of developing societies (CSDS), Lokniti has revealed disturbing prejudices of police personnel towards Muslims on the question of committing violence.
To study the attitudes of the police personnel towards various communities, the researchers asked the police personnel to what extent, according to them, are people from different communities, castes, religions, economic and educational backgrounds naturally prone towards committing crimes. It interviewed 12,000 police personnel from 21 different states.
The report highlights a disturbingly evident bias in attitudes towards Muslims as a community when it came to the question of committing crimes.
It observed, “When we looked at what the police personnel think about various communities, the data indicated a significant bias against Muslims. However, no such prejudices were reported against people from SC or ST communities. About half of the police personnel reported that Muslims are likely to be naturally prone towards committing violence (‘very much’ and ‘somewhat’ combined).
Azhar Ansar is a Delhi-based freelance journalist reporting on politics, hate crimes and advocacy.
The incident with Basiran's family is not isolated. Over the past decade in India, discrimination and hate crimes against Muslims and other minorities have risen. The Quint leads in reporting and investigating such cases. Read our reports on hate crimes and communal discrimination here.