Offender Tiwari was fined Rs1,36,800 for the 114 cases against him for the same. On Tuesday, Pankaj Pal, another outlaw, was fined Rs24,700 by the same court for fastening posters of his consultancy firm inside trains.
The judicial first class magistrate's act of fining Sion resident Vijay Tiwari has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Railway Protection Force's (RPF) feud against the illegal pasting of posters inside local trains.
Offender Tiwari was fined Rs1,36,800 for the 114 cases against him for the same. On Tuesday, Pankaj Pal, another outlaw, was fined Rs24,700 by the same court for fastening posters of his consultancy firm inside trains. Tiwari and Pal paid their fines and avoided jail time.
The fines are hefty, agreed officials, because during the months of January and December last year, the RPF unit of the Central Railway had managed to recover approximately Rs2.94 lakhs as fines from 377 cases under various sections of the Railway Act. The new year was rung in with the recovery of Rs31,400 from 42 cases between the months of January and February.
"Now the fine from just two cases is about Rs1.6 lakhs so it comes as a huge boost to us. It is frustrating to see professionals fully aware of the law, pasting illegal posters and pamphlets inside trains to spread their business. Many of these posters are pasted on top of legitimate advertisements which is a loss to the advertiser and the railways," said a senior RPF officer.
The RPF has been after the biggest thorn in the business of illegal poster pasting- the melange of all-curing Bengali babas- for the longest time and this fining is just the kind of boost the RPF needs to nab them. These babas operate mainly from places like Mira road and pay youngsters a pittance to paste posters in the trains parked in yards. "Since these babas carry out their operations surreptitiously in order to ensnare innocent people, it gets difficult for the RPF to call on their numbers, fix appointments and pose as customers. So far the RPF has mostly managed to catch hold of the young fellows who fall prey to the babas but not the babas themselves," said an officer.
Speaking to DNA, Alok Bohra, senior commandant, RPF, said, "Intensive drives are on to eliminate such unauthorised activity. We are confident of apprehending more people in the coming days and ensuring that the trains are free of such posters."
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