Actress Antara arrested after alleged attack on railway staff

MUMBAI: Bollywood actress Antara Banerjee was arrested after allegedly assaulting Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, damaging railway property and creating a disturbance aboard the Bandra-Ganganagar Aravali Express over a dispute involving a reserved seat.

The incident took place on August 12 while Banerjee was travelling to Surat for a shooting assignment. According to Indian media reports and the case documents cited in them, the actress held a sleeper-class ticket but boarded a reserved air-conditioned coach, leading to an argument with other passengers.

The incident reportedly occurred between Borivali and Dahanu between around 9:30pm and 10:50pm.

According to the complaint, a passenger asked Banerjee to vacate his reserved seat. When she refused, the passenger informed ticket examiner Harikesh Tripathi and RPF personnel about the matter.

RPF Assistant Sub-Inspector Yaminikant Mishra and constable Rajesh Kumar then intervened. However, Banerjee allegedly abused the railway personnel and became violent.

The complaint alleges that she subsequently stripped herself and pulled out a sharp object, reportedly a razor blade, to threaten the RPF personnel. She allegedly injured both Mishra and herself during the altercation.

Banerjee is also accused of damaging Mishra’s uniform and mobile phone.

As the situation escalated, RPF personnel reportedly shut the door of the AC coach to prevent the incident from worsening. Banerjee allegedly then tried to escape and attempted to break the train’s window glass.

She was eventually taken off the train at Dahanu station and handed over to the Government Railway Police (GRP).

The incident reportedly continued for more than an hour, leaving passengers on the train frightened and disrupting the journey.

Borivali Railway Police took Banerjee into custody the following morning. GRP Inspector Kunda Gavade said, based on witness statements, that the actress may have become mentally distressed after being unable to secure an AC-class ticket.

Police reportedly asked her to contact relatives or a lawyer, but she allegedly refused and instead demanded that she be arrested.

Banerjee was booked in a case filed on August 13 on charges including endangering public safety, seriously injuring public servants, assault and intentionally insulting government employees.

She was subsequently released on bail.

The case has drawn attention to the security challenges faced by railway personnel when disputes between passengers escalate into violence.