Accused JD(U) MLA claims he was not in Rajdhani Express

JD(U) MLA Sarfaraz Alam, who was booked for allegedly abusing a couple inside Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, today claimed that he had not boarded the train on Sunday night when the incident purportedly took place.
"I did not travel in the said train on that date," Alam, son of senior RJD MP and former union minister Mohammed Taslimuddin, told PTI when he was contacted for his reaction.
The third-term MLA said a political conspiracy has been hatched against him.
"I request the media to ask the complainant if they met me on the train...When I was not travelling in the train how come they met me and (so) the question of my touching and abusing the man and his wife does not arise," Alam said.

However, in his written complaint to the RPF, the passenger said Alam was travelling without ticket and the MLA and his bodyguard were drunk.
Meanwhile, a team under Sub Inspector Rekha Kumari today left for Mughalsarai and Delhi to record statements of the RPF officials present in the train and the complainant couple, Superintendent of Police, Railways, P N Mishra told PTI.

The probe team would also record statements of Superintendent of the train and the TTE on duty on Dibrugarh- New Delhi Rajdhani on Sunday, the SP said.
A list of co-passengers would also be collected by the probe team for more information on the episode.

"I have asked the team to complete the task in next 72 hours and on the basis of facts collected, if need arises, we will question the MLA concerned," Mishra said.
An FIR was lodged yesterday against the JD(U) MLA on the basis of a complaint received by RPF from a passenger, Indrapal Singh Bedi, for allegedly forcibly evicting him from his seat and abusing him and his wife when they protested.
Bedi in his written complaint to RPF had stated that the incident occurred an hour before the train reached Patna on Sunday night.
The RPF team which received the complaint onboard returned to Patna yesterday and an FIR was registered with GRP Patna this morning, the SP said.

JD(U) spokesman Neeraj Kumar said law will take its own course and the police were proceeding in the case without government interference.