Teacher beaten up for saving girls from goons

Pinak Priya Bhattacharya & ; Subhro Maitra, TOI, Jun 3, 2016,Jalpaiguri/Malda: A primary schoolteacher paid the price for standing up to a gang of youths who had barged into a compartment of a moving train near Hakimpara in Jalpaiguri on Wednesday evening and molested a woman.

Even as the youths targeted other women in the compartment, passing lewd remarks and teasing them, Shyama Prasad Pandey - the teacher - bravely confronted them. He shielded the women, standing between them and the men. Even though he managed to stave them off for a few minutes, the youths soon overpowered him and launched a brutal attack on Pandey, hitting him with sticks and stones when the train reached Neemtita station. Pandey was left seriosuly injured.

The incident took place aboard the NJP-bound Teesta Torsha Express around 7:45pm, soon after the train chugged into Neemtita station on the outskirts of Malda.

Although Pandey was given primary treatment by the Railway medical team, he was asked to get admitted in Malda Medical College and Hospital. However, Pandey thought it would be safer to return to his hometown Jalpaiguri.

Pandey, a herpetologist and teacher in a Lataguri school, had gone to Bhopal to attend a seminar on snakes. and was invited to deliver a speech there. He was on his way back to returning to Jalpaiguri via Kolkata and had boarded the S6 coach of the Teesta Torsha Express from Sealdah on Wednesday.

"On reaching Khagraghat Road station in Murshidabad, seven youths boarded our compartment. We had some young girls as our co-passengers. Soon those men started teasing the girls. When one of them protested, they started passing lewd comments. I could not tolerate this and protested. Finally, I succeeded in pushing them into another compartment," the teacher said.

On reaching Neemtita station, around 50 youths boarded the train to beat up Pandey. Before anyone in the compartment could react, they They pounced upon him and hit him with stones,which resulted in profuse bleeding.

The youths fled from the scene when two GRP personnel intervened. When the train reached Malda Town station, Pandey was still bleeding. It was there that a railway medical team attended to Pandey. Another co-passenger Kunal Roy lodged a police complaint on his behalf.

"I was advised to get admitted in Malda Medical College and Hospital. But I thought it would be a better option to get back to my town," said Pandey on Thursday morning.

Female passengers were being teased and molested by some youths. Protester teacher could resist this nuisance but at the cost of his bloodshed. He was severely roughed up by the miscreants who did not have the valid tickets for reserved compartment. Such an incident at Tista Torsha Express had created sensation at Malda Town Station last night. The wounded teacher who was taken care of only after two hours lodged a complaint to police.

Yesterday, some women including some students boarded the S-6 compartment of New Jalpaiguri bound Up Tista Torsha Express from Sealdah. One of them was a student of Siliguri College. At Khagraghat of Murshidabad, 6-7 youths boarded the compartment and forcibly sat among the women. No wonder, they did not have the valid tickets to board the train. Worse, they began teasing the women, making filthy remarks and finally molested the student of Siliguri.

Shyam Prasad Pandey, a teacher and a co passenger found it difficult to bear. He protested and some other passengers joined him too. The youths were reproached and were controlled for the time being. But they began to call some others via mobile. When the train reached Nimtita Station around 7.45 pm, more than 50 youths boarded the compartment to teach Pandey a lesson. Most of them had rods at hand and Pandey was beaten severely. He was bleeding profusely and the youths got down from the train within minutes. Wounded Pandey was taken care of by other passengers and when the train reached Malda Town station around 10.10 pm the passengers got down to stage protest before the GRP. Doctors from Railway Hospital rushed in and Pandey was treated. Kunal Roy, another passenger lodged a complaint to police.

Inspector in Charge of GRP K G Dutta said, "We have got a written complaint in this regard. But as the incident took place under Azimgunj GRP we have sent the complaint there. We had arranged the treatment of the wounded victims."

Pandey, an inhabitant of Hakimpara of Jalpaiguri is a teacher in a school of Lataguri. An expert of snake, he had been to Bhopal to address a seminar on this. Female passengers of S-6 compartment said, "The youths from Khagraghat not only boarded there illegally but they began disturbing the women. Some were sitting even on the lap of a woman. We tried to contact TTE or police in the train but none was available."