HYDERABAD: Remember Ghulam Mohiuddin, the engineering student who lost one of his legs after being pushed out of a running train by a travelling ticket examiner (TTE)? The incident happened on August 8, but three months later the police are yet to get hold of TTE K V Ramakrishna. This in spite of a case of attempt to murder had been slapped against the TTE.
There was more bad news for the engineering student on Sunday. He not only lost his leg in the accident, but the tragedy cost him one precious academic year too.
Muffakham Jah College authorities informed him that he would have to continue in the same class next year. "I didn't appear for the first semester. I will not be allowed to appear for second semester. Now, I will have to repeat second year again," the bed-ridden student told The Times of India. Though Mohiuddin said that Ramakrishna pushed him out of the Konark Express because as a daily short distance passholder he was not supposed to board the reserved bogie of a long distance train, the cops were remarkably lackadaisical from day one. This was largely due to the fear of the powerful railway unions which seemed to have been opposed to any action against the TTE. In the beginning even the railway officials were lax, but after a public outcry they suspended Ramakrishna. Even the police filed the case of attempt to murder after public pressure. The police say that Ramakrishna, who lives in Secunderabad, is 'absconding' after his suspension, but analysts say that it seemed to be a clear case of the TTE being allowed to abscond. A casual conversation with the police investigating officer demonstrates his sympathy for the TTE. "We have no specific evidence that the TTE pushed the engineering student from the train. We recorded the evidence of 10 passengers. Not a single passenger said that the TTE and Mohiuddin had an argument over the invalid ticket," Nampally railway police inspector N Yugandhar Babu claimed.