‘No clear evidence of assault in footage’

No complaint lodged either by the couple or passengers, says Kolkata Metro

Kolkata: Kolkata Metro Rail is seen during a trial run between the extended phase from Tollygunge to New Garia station in the southern part of the city on Thursday. The extended 8.5 km stretch of Metro Rail will be opened to public on August 23. Initially the train will go till Birji, 2.5 km short of the New Garia Station. The extension project had started in 1999 and its estimated cost was Rs 1,032 crore, with the state government undertaking 33 per cent of the cost. Photo: Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury. August 06, 2009.

Following widespread outrage against the alleged assault of a young couple by a group of commuters, the Metro Railway authorities on Wednesday said that “no clear evidence” of assault was found from CCTV footage.

They also said that no complaint has been lodged either by the couple or by any passenger so far. The alleged incident of moral policing, photographs of which have become viral on social media, took place on Monday night at the Dum Dum Metro Station in north Kolkata.

Officials said that the couple were allegedly “hugging each other” and thus were assaulted by the commuters. The incident sparked a massive outrage in the State.

Inquiry ordered

“Video footage (of CCTV) was analysed but no clear evidence of assault can be noticed. Preliminary enquiry was ordered by Metro Railway into the matter,” Ajay Vijayvargiya, General Manager, Metro Railway, Kolkata, told journalists.

He also said that the CCTV footage only showed that about 10 to 12 people standing together but no assault seemed to be taking place. “At one point it seems that 10 to 12 people were standing together but nowhere in the footage it seems that an assault was taking place. Within a minute they (the people seen in the footage) disbursed,” said Mr. Vijayvargiya.

Condemning the incident, he said that the Metro Railway, Kolkata, was “strengthening” its surveillance system and “procurement and installation” of additional CCTV cameras was in process.

‘No CCTV’

However, Munawar Khan, Senior Security Commissioner of Metro, admitted that the area where the alleged assault took place was not under CCTV coverage. “Unfortunately the place of occurrence (of the assault) was not under CCTV coverage,” said Mr. Khan.

On Monday around 9.55 p.m. a young couple was assaulted at the Dum Dum Metro Station by some elderly commuters who took offence to the couple’s public display of affection. According to Metro Railway officials, the couple boarded from Chandni Chowk Metro Station at Central Kolkata in a Dum Dum-bound train.

Photographs taken by other commuters which are circulating on social media showed a group of elderly men with their fists raised and the youth pressed against a wall inside the station. The woman was seen putting herself between the youth and the mob to shield him from the blows.