Mumbai: Railway Tribunal Awards ₹3.4 Lakh Compensation To Kanjurmarg Woman Who Lost Eye In Train Stone-Pelting Incident

The Railway Claims Tribunal (RCT) has awarded compensation of Rs 3.4 lakh to a 55-year-old Kanjurmarg resident, Ganga Parmar, who lost her left eye in an untoward incident while traveling by train in April 2023. The tribunal has also directed the General Manager of Western Railway (Union of India) to pay the amount with nine percent interest from the date of the incident.

According to Ganga Parmar, she was traveling with her husband, Bhagwanji Parmar, from Bandra Terminus to Bhavnagar Terminus on Train No. 12971. As the train passed between Kandivali and Borivali Railway Stations, a stone was thrown from outside the train, hitting her left eye. Parmar’s husband sought help from railway staff, and she was immediately admitted to Aastha Hospital in Kandivali for treatment.

Ganga Parmar maintained that she was a bona fide passenger with a valid ticket at the time of the accident, confirming her eligibility to claim compensation under railway rules for injuries sustained in what she described as an “untoward incident.”

The Western Railway contested the claim, arguing that no such incident was officially recorded by the station manager after the occurrence. However, the tribunal, after reviewing both sides’ arguments and medical evidence, ruled in Parmar’s favor.

Medical reports, including those provided by Dr. Sumeet Patil of Dr. B. A. M. Railway Hospital in Byculla, confirmed that the injury to Parmar’s left eye was severe and unlikely to improve with any treatment. “The injuries sustained by the applicant are as good as the loss of one eye,” the tribunal noted in its order.

Based on this assessment, the Railway Claims Tribunal awarded Ganga Parmar Rs 3.4 lakh in compensation for the loss of her eye, along with nine percent interest from the date of the incident.