Railway official threatens to attack mentally disabled children who visit the station | So Good News

A railway official threatened to assault mentally challenged children and their caregivers who visited Gollahalli railway station to help the children familiarize themselves with the public space and improve social interaction.

A video of the station manager’s threat, which went viral, exposed discrimination against people with disabilities.

NGO Snehadhara Foundation, which takes care of mentally challenged individuals, organized the trip to Gollahalli with nine mentally challenged children and 13 others. NGO founder Geetanjali Sarangan was shocked when a station official told her to collect the children and leave when she went to ask why they were being denied platform tickets.

In the video, the station manager says that the foundation requires permission from the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) to visit the platform. He threatened to attack the group when Geetanjali asked what was the need for DRM’s letter to buy platform tickets and enter a public space.

“We will call the RPF (Railway Protection Force), that’s all. You will be beaten,” an official is seen threatening Geetanjali.

The officer’s tone softens after a member of Geetanjali’s team starts filming the video, which also shows a young official trying to defuse the situation by speaking politely. “If it was a matter of security, we would have explained that each of the nine inmates is accompanied by a warden. Besides, all they did was stand far away and enjoy the trains passing through the station. It is a shame that we had to fight and go through this unpleasant experience just to show two trains to the children,” said Geetanjali.

DRM Shyam Singh was not available for comment.

DH contacted Chief Public Relations Officer, South Western Railway, Aneesh Hegde, who said he will look into the matter.