30 September,2011 08:46 AM IST | | Akela
She had approached the Churchgate stationmaster when her valuables were stolen, but ended up behind barsu00a0
For 45-year-old Shivali Trivedi, a widow, her first visit to a police station turned out to be a harrowing experience that she will never forget.
Shivali was robbed of her documents and cash at Marine Lines station, and had approached the stationmaster's office at Churchgate for help. She requested the stationmaster to make an announcement on the public address system to help retrieve her lost documents. The stationmaster, however, refused to oblige.
"Initially, the stationmaster laughed, and then said, announcement ke baad log hansenge (people will start laughing after hearing the announcement)," said Shivali.
When Shivali refused to budge, the stationmaster called in the officers of the Government Railway Police. The GRP officials then escorted her to the police station, where women constables allegedly assaulted her. In a bid to save herself, Shivali tried grabbing the lathi, which accidentally hit one of the home guards Rekha Jadhav, injuring her.
Enraged by the incident, the GRP arrested her. She was produced in the Railway Court at Mumbai Central on Tuesday and was then sent to judicial custody.
Shivali's lawyer Hasmukh Vora said, "My client has been booked under several Sections of the IPC like 326, 353,332,506 (II), which is unwarranted."
Shivali's husband, who was an employee at the Bombay Port Trust (BPT), died on duty on February 18.
Since then she had been running from pillar to post to arrange for all the documents and apply for a pension from the BPT.
She informed she was on her way to deposit the widow certificate to the BPT office on Monday, when the incident occurred. A robber flicked her bag at Marine Lines railway station, which contained documents and some cash. She then approached the stationmaster's office at Churchgate station.
The Other Side
"We have the CCTV footage in which it is clearly visible that Shivali was arguing with the stationmaster. She also misbehaved and abused the policemen. All of a sudden, she tried to snatch the lathi from a female home guard. During the scuffle, one of the female home guards was struck on her jaw and lost a tooth," said Sangram Pache, police inspector, Churchgate GRP.
