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The recent incident in Shikohabad (Uttar Pradesh) was tragic and must be evidently condemned in the strongest words and dealt with the harshest punishment. According to eyewitness statements filed with the police, Jawans travelling in the unreserved compartment of the Farakka Express on the Delhi-Kanpur sector were upset at passengers boarding the coach. As the train was nearing Shikohabad station, more passengers boarded the train and an altercation ensued resulting in six passengers being apparently thrown off the unreserved compartment by four jawans.

Five of the passengers including a woman were crushed to death by the speeding Sampoorna Kranti Express train on the parallel track, and another left critically injured. Three of the jawans belonged to the Rajputana Rifles and the other is from the BSF’s Jammu unit, all four have been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. A public response has ensured that the accused jawans were taken into police custody. The Defence Ministry on its part has sent a senior army officer to conduct an on-site investigation and have assured stern disciplinary action if the allegations are proven to be true. However, at the same time, the army is not in favour of the jawans being tried under normal criminal laws but turned over to face a court martial. Although a ruling by the magistrate in the town of Firozabad had initially rejected the application on the basis that the supposed crime had occurred on a scheduled train, three of the jawans have now been handed over to the army by a local court.

The most disturbing aspect of this crime is that the perpetrators were not criminals but jawans entrusted to serve and protect our country. Most often special reserved compartments are kept for army personnel on railways where general civilian passengers are prevented from entering. According to reports from railway officials, from time to time general compartments are occupied by jawans and civilian passengers are evicted. Therefore, the jawans were clearly abusing the power of the uniform to intimidate civilian passengers on the train. However, the fact that these incidents have remained unchecked have left the perpetrators with no fear of the law, as they are often not held accountable for their actions. It is unfortunate that such incidents cause a huge outcry only to be forgotten until a similar incident gets repeated.

A part of the problem lies with our own lack of trust and cynicism of the government mechanism. Such unacceptable behaviour often go unpunished and even if action is taken, it is nothing more than a slap on the wrist? How can we expect things to be better if criminal acts are not treated with the severity it deserves? We are left disillusioned with the inefficiency and prevalent corruption that obstructs any genuine efforts towards progress. Thus, instead of challenging the deficiency present in the system, we have obviously become habituated to it and somewhere along the lines have lost our own voice to seek accountability. In addition, there is also an air of cynicism, which has given people a sense of helplessness to make a difference. This propels the average person to accept the disintegrating state of affairs instead of condemning and taking a stand against such inappropriate behaviour.

Last year, the grandnephew of the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was killed after being thrown off the Chhattisgarh Express. At that time the railway police had apparently stepped up security to thwart further such incidents from occurring. But these measures were temporary and there continues to be an absence of any tangible polices aimed at improving the safety concerns of passengers on Indian Railways. The Shikohabad incident has led railways authorities to deploy plainclothes policemen on trains to ensure the safety of passengers travelling in unreserved compartments. General security in railway stations between Kanpur and Mathura has been strengthened following the tragedy at Shikohabad. But safety measure cannot be sketchy and restricted to areas. There has to be a more comprehensive and effective policy to ensure safety of all passengers.

In conclusion, the tragic incidents that have occurred on trains, including the most recent Shikohabad incident, have placed a burden on our railways to take more responsibility where safety is concerned. And now it has also focused on the effectiveness of our laws to ensure that the guilty are punished for their crimes. A value cannot be placed on the lives of the five people killed in the tragedy but certainly justice can save other innocent people from sharing the same fate.

Will the perpetrators be made accountable for their actions? Will things change after this incident? It would be easy to say that time will be the best judge. But then things can only change with the commitment to make a difference and insistence that as citizens we deserve better. We remain quiet spectators overlooking the prevalent lawlessness and then criticize the system for the failure. Therefore, there needs to be some responsibility taken on our part to ensure that such incidents are addressed seriously and appropriate action taken swiftly. The fact that the system is flawed is no secret but we, as citizens need to initiate change rather than sit back helplessly expecting it to happen. At the end it is people power that can revolutionize society not its deafening silence on the disintegrating state of affairs.

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