Patna, (Samajweekly) JD-U legislator Gopal Mandal, who was embroiled in a row after shown roaming semi-nude on Patna-New Delhi Tejas Rajdhani express, is getting in deeper trouble after a fellow passenger alleged that he was drunk and misbehaved when asked to cover himself.
“Mandal was inebriated and roaming in vest and undergarments. When I requested him to wear a towel at least, he and his men brutally beat me. They put dirty water in my mouth and snatched my gold chain and gold ring,” said Prahalad Paswan who was travelling with his wife and children.
Mandal was travelling with three aides named Vijay Mandal, Kunal Singh, and Dilip Kumar in the A1 coach.
The Tejas express departed Patna Junction at 7.30 pm on Friday, and when the train was crossing Bihiya railway station at 8.26 pm, Mandal started roaming semi-naked position.
“When I asked him to wear a towel at least, he started shouting at me using abusive words. When I informed my identity and name, he also abused me with caste- based remarks. Their brutal attack was continued till Dildarnagar junction of Uttar Pradesh,” said Paswan, who is a former personal assistant of a former Bihar MP.
A GRP official at New Delhi station said: “We have registered zero FIR in New Delhi GRP and transferred the case to Bihar as the crime took place in the jurisdiction of Bihar.”
Meanwhile, Mandal has a different narrative about this incident.
“I admit that I was in the train and was in undergarments but that is not a crime. Would you give me phansi (death penalty) for it.
“I was having an upset stomach. When I boarded the train from Patna, I went to the washroom wearing a vest and underwear. I cannot tell a lie. I always tell the truth,” Mandal said.
The act of Mandal reached such a stage that Railway Protection Force personnel, deployed on the train, reached the coach and tried to sort out the problem. Due to the huge uproar, the train was briefly stopped at Dildarnagar junction and RPF personnel of the station were informed about the incident.
