The Mumbai Railway Police have taken suo motu cognizance of an unauthorised protest held by members of the Central Railway Mazdoor Sangh (CRMS) at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on Thursday.
According to police, the CRMS members staged the protest without prior permission, leading to charges of unlawful assembly, public disorder, and violation of traffic regulations.
On the day of the incident, CRMS members held a sit-in protest outside the motorman’s lobby and the station manager’s office, disrupting railway operations and halting local train services for nearly an hour.
Earlier, on November 6 around 4 p.m., about 100–200 railway employees, led by CRMS president Praveen Vajpayee, gathered at Milan Hall and peacefully marched toward the Divisional Railway Manager’s (DRM) office.
However, around 5:30 p.m., after the official protest concluded, about 30–40 employees, led by Dube and Sisodia, entered the CSMT motorman’s lobby and began an unauthorised sit-in.
Reports say the protesters placed iron benches to block access to the offices of motormen, guards, and station managers, trapping some staff inside. From 5:41 p.m., local train services came to a complete halt, causing crowding and chaos on platforms.
The protest ended at 6:38 p.m. after assurances from the DRM, and train operations gradually resumed.
A senior official said the protest violated prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which forbids gatherings of five or more people without prior permission within the jurisdiction of the Railway Police Commissionerate.
Police stated, “The accused will soon be called in for questioning. An investigation is also underway to identify those who encouraged or supported CRMS members in staging the unauthorized protest at the station,” IANS reported.
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