Burqa-clad man caught in ladies compartment on Mumbai local, video viral

MUMBAI: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) registered an FIR after a male commuter dressed in a burqa was found travelling in the ladies’ compartment of a Central Railway local train on Friday.

A video of the incident later went viral on social media. The accused is currently absconding.


On Friday afternoon, women passengers travelling in the second-class ladies’ coach of a fast local train bound for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) became suspicious of a co-passenger wearing a burqa. When questioned, the person was found to be a man.

The women asked him why he had boarded the ladies’ compartment and why he was wearing a burqa. Some of the passengers began recording the incident on their mobile phones. They warned that he would be handed over to the police at the next halt, Ghatkopar station.

Before the train stopped, the man jumped off the moving coach onto the tracks and ran towards another platform, where he boarded a Karjat-bound local train.

The women got down at Ghatkopar station and reported the matter to on-duty police personnel. CCTV footage was checked, but the man was not captured on camera. Police later checked the Karjat-bound train at Mulund station, but the accused had already alighted.

Following the circulation of the video on social media, the RPF registered an FIR under the Indian Railways Act for unauthorised travel in a ladies’ coach. A search is underway to trace the accused.