Tired of showing leniency to commuters who repeatedly go mask-less & disregard social distancing rules, the railways on Wednesday warned that offenders will be fined & could also be booked under the Railway Act.
1st-time offenders will have to pay up Rs 250 in penalty, said Shivaji Sutar, the Central Railway’s (CR) chief public relations officer. The second offence attracts a jail term of 1 month, forfeiture of the ticket as well as a fine of Rs 250 under Section 145 of the Act. Repeat violators could be booked under Section 154, which attracts a prison term of up to one year, or Section 153 & land behind the bars for up to 5 years.
First-time offenders could still be treated with kid gloves & let off with a warning. Officials said the aim is to get belligerent, serial violators to fall in line. Another CR officer said such commuters could be prosecuted under sections 153 as well as 154.
A Western Railway (WR) officer said the rule extends to those spitting or urinating on station premises & in local as well as long-distance trains. “These provisions of the law can be invoked for any act that affects public health & safety during the pandemic since they can spread the coronavirus.”
The railways’ warning comes amid discussions to allow non-essential services workers on local trains. At 2 meetings on Tuesday involving top State Govt, & CR & WR officials, there was consensus that to start with, 30% employees of private organisations should be allowed on trains.
An officer said that “If more people are allowed to board trains, it makes it all the more necessary to act stringently against those refusing to follow Covid-19 rules".
The railway’s decision also came on a day when the BMC registered an FIR—the first such during the pandemic— against a 28-year-old resident of Govandi for going mask-less in a public place.
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