GIRLS of the taekwondo team of Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU) had a horrified time when they were travelling by train from Bhubaneswar to their destination for attending a sports meet. Some boys attacked the girls and one girl suffered injuries. Though the attackers were arrested by Railway Protection Force, the girls could not come out of the shock. Manager of the team registered complaint with the RPF and got the attackers arrested.

 

On Saturday at 11 am, the girls’ team departed from Nagpur for Odisha aboard the Puri-Ahmedabad Express. Upon reaching Bhubaneswar on Sunday morning, they boarded a connecting train, the Falaknuma Express, as their team is set to participate in the All India Inter-University Taekwondo Competition, scheduled to be held from March 15-20 at Fakir Mohan University in Balasore, Odisha. Dr Narayan Waghade, coach of the team told ‘The Hitavada’ that they did not get reservation for their journey from Bhubaneswar to Balasore. At Bhubaneswar when they boarded another train, a lot of passengers, especially the students, joined them.

 

These students were going to write their respective examinations. It was during this journey that an incident of misconduct against the girls occurred. It is noteworthy that Nagpur University had assigned Bharati Kanoje, as the team manager and Narayan Waghade as coach to accompany the 18-member team. Subsequently, when the girls began their journey toward Balasore on Sunday morning aboard Train No. 12704 (Falaknuma Express), they encountered a group of unruly youths who subjected some of the girls to harassment. The team was divided into three groups because of which at that time, the manager and coach were not seated at nearby berths. Some of the girls contacted their parents to report the incident and shared video footage of the event.

 

The girls were left in a state of utter distress, weeping inconsolably on the train. Despite calls made to the RPF (Railway Protection Force), they failed to arrive at the scene immediately. This further heightened their anxiety. Eventually, RPF personnel arrived at the next station and took the unruly youths into custody. This incident should be a learning lesson for the university authorities as their lack of security and planning was exposed. Had the team management booked tickets early or arranged a separate private vehicle to carry the girls from Bhubaneswar, the incident would not have taken place.