'Divyang' thrown from moving train for objecting smoking

Upendra Prasad, a native of Faridabad, was traveling in disable coach of Kerala Sampark Kantri when he was beaten up and looted by three miscreants. The robbers even wanted to hang him in the coach.

Chandigarh, July 1: A differently-abled man was allegedly beaten up and thrown out of a moving train near here by three men after he asked them to stop smoking.

Upender Prasad (45), a resident of Faridabad in Haryana, boarded the train from Chandigarh railway station. He had to get down at Delhi station and then travel to his hometown on the outskirts of the national capital.

"Prasad in a complaint said he boarded the Chandigarh-Kerala Sampark Kranti Express's coach for the disabled. Three physically fit men, aged between 20 and 24, were also traveling in the same coach," a senior government railway police official told PTI.

"As the train started moving, the men started smoking and Prasad opposed it. Enraged over it, they hurled abuses and kicked and punched him. They snatched Prasad's purse, mobile phone and even tried to strangulate him. When the train neared Model Town, about 25 km from Chandigarh, they threw him out," Station House Officer, GRP, Ambala Cantt, Raj Bachchan said, quoting the complaint.

Prasad fell unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he sought help from the people on a nearby road. He suffered fracture in his left leg and a shoulder, and a head injury. Two passersby rushed him to Ambala civil hospital, the SHO said.

The three attackers have been booked on charges of attempt to murder, theft and other relevant provisions of law. Railway officials in Chandigarh have been asked to scan CCTV footage for clues.

PTI