mid-day editorial: Put a halt to bullying on the train

This paper recently highlighted yet another instance of bullying on the local train, when an unruly group of commuters tried to force a senior citizen to give up her window seat, and then turned on a fellow commuter who tried to intervene, pushing him out of the train.

Luckily, there was no serious injury, but we have witnessed numerous instances in the past where people have lost limbs and even their life after being pushed off of a train following such arguments. This incident has to be seen in the larger context of train bullying. Another term for this is train terror. There are daily commuters who form cliques or groups and then terrify others for their favourite spots in the coach, sometimes not even allowing others to board the compartment. The train bullies have strength in numbers, and they pick on solo travellers, especially those who are not versed with the ‘pecking order' on the train.

It is time to crack down hard on train bullies. In this case, the Good Samaritan did not find any help from the railway cops, who did not show even after promising to send help. Commuters will complain if they believe that action will be taken against the culprits. If the process of complaining is made too cumbersome, then the culprits will only grow bolder in the faith that nobody will upbraid them.

Forcing people to give up the much coveted window seat, using muscle power to push the solitary commuter in the corner, bullying seniors to ‘accept' whatever is doled out to them and act as if they are doing people a favour by allowing them to ride the train, is a reprehensible reality.

Strict punitive action can act as a strong deterrent. Bullies need to be stood up to, and there's no one better suited to the job than our railway police.