Surat: Man arrested for illegal hawking after his video of selling toys in train by mimicking politicians went viral

A hawker selling toys on a train was arrested by Railway Protection Force (RPF) at Surat railway station Friday. The hawker used to sell toys by mimicking various politicians to train passengers.

The man has been identified as Avdhesh Dubey who was arrested after a video of him mimicking politicians including PM Narendra Modi went viral.

The Railway Protection Police said he was apprehended during unauthorise vending in train no 17204 sleeper coach at Surat Railway station.

Dubey was booked under several sections of Railway act including CR 1228/19 U/S 144(A),145(B),147 RA. He was produced before a Judicial Magistrate First Class court in Surat where he accepted his guilt.

Dubey was fined Rs 3,500 and was sent to 10 days judicial custody.

Railway Protection Force (RPF): A case was registered against him vide CR 1228/19 U/S 144(A),145(B),147 RA. He was produced before a Judicial Magistrate First Class court in Surat where he accepted his guilt, he was fined Rs 3500 & was sent to 10 days Judicial Custody. https://t.co/KUMa03SZdm

— ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2019

In his viral video which has been doing the rounds on social media for the past few days, Avdhesh Dubey can be seen mimicking politicians like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. 

Hailing from Varanasi, Avdhesh Dubey migrated to Valsad almost 2 years ago. To earn a living, he had been selling toys to train commuters. Dubey has a wife and two children. 

Following this development, Ministry of Railways has issued a clarification on the arrest of the train hawker in Gujarat saying that Avdhesh Dubey was arrested in a drive against unauthorised persons and registered a case vide CR no1228/19 under section 144(A), 145(B), 147 of the Railways Act and was produced before the court. 

"The Railway Magistrate verified the past record of the defaulter and came to know his repeated offences under section 144 RA (12th time including this case). The defaulter himself confessed to the magistrate that he has been doing unauthorized hawking in trains since 2005."  

"As the Railway Magistrate has been dealing such repeated offenders strongly, he imposed him the punishment of 10 days imprisonment and fine Rs.3500. It is pertinent to mention here that Railway magistrate has imposed imprisonment up to 30 days also in other such cases. It is routine action by RPF, Surat against unauthorized vendors and 8 other persons were also arrested during this drive in the Month of May by RPF, Surat." 

"It may also be mentioned Avdhesh Dubey who has already been booked for this offence 11 times (7 times by Valsad Post and 4 times by Surat Post)."

Clarification on a news item, carried out on different media forums, regarding an arrest of a train hawker in Gujarat. pic.twitter.com/ujb8i7zqGu

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) June 2, 2019