Bloodied over Re 1 chhutta

Businessman gets brutally beaten up by railway booking clerk who felt humiliated when he was asked to keep the change

Businessman gets brutally beaten up by railway booking clerk who felt humiliated when he was asked to keep the change

A dispute over a measly Re 1 ended up landing one man in hospital and another in jail.

Vinod Marathe (33), a resident of Vidyavihar, sustained severe injuries on his forehead after Arunesh Mishra, a railway ticket clerk, brutally attacked him when he asked the railway official to keep the change.

At the Parel station ticket counter yesterday, Marathe gave Rs 7 to buy a ticket to Vidyavihar, which costs Rs 6.

Since Mishra did not have change, Marathe, who has a transport business, walked away, saying it's okay.

But Mishra felt humiliated, so he walked out of the room and hit Marathe with a ticket punching machine.

Paisa Phek, Tamasha Dekh: Doctors say Vinod Marathe was lucky to escape internal injuries. But he did lose a lot of blood and required many stitches.

'Change mat do'

"I told him 'change mat do' and started walking towards my father and sister, who were accompanying me.

Suddenly, Mishra came from behind with an iron ticket punching machine and smashed it on my head, making me virtually unconscious," alleged Vinod, who was rushed to Sion Hospital.

He suffered major injuries on his forehead, which required multiple stiches.

Lucky Escape

Doctors said Marathe's CT scan did not show any internal damage to the brain, but he is lucky to have survived, as it could have been serious, considering the amount of blood he lost.

The clerk, however, insists he was not at fault and that Vinod provoked him.

"I felt insulted and humiliated when he told me to keep the change, as if I were a beggar. I did not hit him with any object.

I just raised my hand. And he hit me back too," said Mishra, who is in the Dadar Central Railway police station.

Illustration/Sameer Pawar.

An FIR has been lodged against him and he will be produced before court today.

ASI Dashrat Kamble of Dadar Police station said, "We have booked the accused under Sections 324 and 504 (voluntarily causing hurt by a dangerous weapon or means and intentional insult, with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Indian Penal Code.

If proven guilty, he could be imprisoned for up to five years or fined or both." Despite repeated attempts, the Central Railway PRO was unavailable for comment.

Sister Speak

Vinod Marathe's sister Saili Putak, who had accompanied him along with their father, said, "The blow was so severe that it drenched Vinod in blood.

He had to be wheel-chaired to the hospital. There were about 15 people in the queue, but the attack was so sudden that nobody could react.

A passenger and some GRP personnel came to our rescue and provided first aid from the station master's office."