RailEnquiry

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has decided to take up the issue of the attack on an American woman, Michelle Marks, 28, on a local train on Sunday between Marine Lines and Charni Road stations. A drug addict allegedly attacked Marks with a blade while trying to snatch her iPhone.

“Even though Marks escaped with minor injuries, the incident in itself is serious in nature. We are concerned about the safety of millions of women who commute on local trains,’’ said commission member Nirmala Samant-Prabhavalkar.

“I plan to meet the victim soon and get a first-hand report of the incident. I spoke to Prabhat Kumar, chief of Government Railway Police (GRP), Mumbai, and have asked him to submit a report to the commission immediately.”

Meanwhile, the Mumbai Railway Pravasi Sangh has slammed the railway ministry for its failure to ensure passenger safety. Sangh president Madhu Kotian said, “It’s a disgrace that the ministry, which gets a revenue of Rs1,800 crore annually from Mumbai’s suburban railway, does not deem it necessary to provide for security. Every time an incident takes place, it claims that there is a paucity of police personnel.’’

Kotian said the Railway Protection Force (RPF) claimed that they are tasked with only protecting railway property.

“The GRP, which comes under the state government, has completely failed in its task,’’ said a daily commuter, Chandresh Dani.

Nazima Sayyed, vice-president of the Sangh, said the organisation has decided to lead a delegation of women commuters to home minister RR Patil to complain about the “utter lack of security’’ on the city’s local trains