Title - Harbour line 'stuntmen' return, cops fail to act

MUMBAI: Dangerous stunts on running trains have made a comeback on the Harbour line, and the police are yet to take action despite having received complaints about the menace.

The stunts had almost stopped after nearly 100 boys were arrested in 2011, but a commuter noticed a group of boys performing them when he was on the train from Bandra to CST on Friday, Aug 2. The minors boarded the train in Bandra and began their attempts at daredevilry once the train had left Mahim. Two of them were in the first-class compartment, and three in the ladies compartment. They got off the train at stations and boarded it after it had gathered speed, perilously hung out of the door with their feet on the footboard of the compartment, and leaped up to slap poles along the network.

Commuters, who had begun discussing among themselves the risks the boys were taking, soon began openly admonishing the urchins. When that did not help, a commuter called the railway helpline (9833331111) when the train reached Wadala to inform the authorities about the problem, the train's movement and its exact location.

However, nobody from either the Government Railway Police (GRP) or the Railway Protection Force (RPF) turned up at the subsequent stations. After an upset commuter caught hold of one of the kids at Sewri and warned him, the group of kids moved on to other compartments and continued their stunts all the way up to Masjid railway station. No policeman had come in to conduct checks till the train reached CST.

On Monday, Aug 5, commuters noted another group of boys engaged in similar dangerous acts. When a woman commuter scolded one of the boys at Cotton Green station, the boys apparently left the train, telling each other that they would take the next train.