NHRC to Rly Board: Pay Rs 5 lakh to boy thrown from running train

Bhubaneswar: The National Human Rights Commission has asked the Railway Board to pay a compensation of Rs five lakh to a minor who was permanently maimed after a ticket examiner allegedly pushed him out of a running train near Rourkela about one and a half years ago.

The rights body has also asked the Board to provide artificial limbs to the victim at its expense.

As the child is minor, the amount for monetary relief shall be deposited in his name in a fixed deposit account in a nationalized bank with a facility to withdraw the interest accrued thereon every month, the Commission directed.

It asked the Railway Board Secretary to submit a compliance report along with the proof of payment within six weeks from the date of receipt of its directive.

Twelve-year-old Master Samar Singh was serving voluntarily as a sweeper on the Geetanjali Express on July 2, 2008 when ticket examiner Navneet Mishra pushed him out of the running train as the boy allegedly refused to give him a currency of Rs 50 he had found in the train.

The minor lost his right hand and leg in the incident.

The callous, insensible and heartless act of TTE Navneet Mishra has made Master Samar Singh disabled for life, the rights body observed.

The Commission took cognizance of the case and initiated proceedings after a complaint was filed by a man named Ramesh Kumar Mandal.

It issued a notice to the Board but its representatives never turned up to respond despite several reminders.

The Commission finally presumed that the Board had nothing to say against the notice and asked it to pay monetary relief to the victim.