Passenger Allegedly Assaulted On Vande Bharat For Refusing Seat Swap With BJP MLA

A passenger aboard the Delhi-Bhopal Vande Bharat train was allegedly assaulted after refusing to exchange his seat with a BJP MLA.

The incident occurred last Thursday, when Rajeev Singh, a BJP legislator from Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, was travelling with his wife and son to his constituency.

According to reports, Singh was allocated a seat towards the rear of the compartment, while his wife and son were seated at the front-next to the passenger who declined to swap seats.

The situation reportedly escalated when several men, allegedly associated with Singh, boarded the train at Jhansi station and attacked the man, who was en route to Bhopal.

A video of the incident, which has since gone viral, shows around half a dozen men punching the passenger as he remained seated. The assailants were also seen striking him with slippers.

The footage further shows blood streaming from the man's nose, with his clothes visibly stained in blood.

Jhansi's Railway Superintendent of Police, Vipul Kumar Srivastava, confirmed that the dispute stemmed from a disagreement over seat allocation. Speaking to the media, he said appropriate action would be taken after reviewing CCTV evidence.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) in Jhansi stated that a non-cognisable report (NCR) had been filed following a complaint from Singh.

According to the news agency PTI, Singh claimed in his complaint that while travelling with his family, a fellow passenger acted inappropriately. When confronted, the man allegedly misbehaved with Singh's family and later summoned others to Jhansi station, who also acted abusively.