The metro railway authority, Kolkata, continues to remain clueless and denied of having any facts concerning the incident where a young couple was allegedly assaulted at Dum Dum metro station on Sunday evening.

Authorities of Metro Railways of Kolkata, on Wednesday, claimed they found no concrete proof relating to the incident of the alleged assault on the young couple at Dum Dum metro station. Quite contrarily, the metro authorities issued condemning statements following protests by young couples at Dum Dum and Tollygunge metro stations since last evening.

“As CCTV was installed at a distance from the place of incident, no clear footage of any assault has been observed,” said Mr Ajay Vijayvargya, general manager of Metro Railway, addressing the Press on Wednesday.

Condemning the incident of assault on the young couple, the general manager said that no formal complaint has been lodged by the victims. “The footage obtained shows around 10 to 15 people gathering around the couple at 9.55 p.m. and then ‘saying something’ to the railway officials at the station. It also shows the crowd dispersing within a minute or so. However, no clear image of assault or man-handling has been found as yet,” he added.

The incident came to the knowledge of the metro railway authorities after it was reported in a newspaper yesterday. The protesting youths at Dum Dum metro station have submitted a joint deputation to the station master and the case has been handed over to the local police station at Sinthi, said Mr Vijayvargiya. “In absence of any complaint and substantial proof, the case is under investigation now and nothing can be confirmed,” he said.

Elaborating on the measures of surveillance and security, Mr Vijayvargiya claimed that four to five CCTV cameras are installed at Dum Dum metro station while two Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel are deputed to monitor the platform.

Replying to the question on the measures taken by the on-duty RPF at the time of incident, Mr Vijayvargiya said: “The RPF officials are supposed to be at each end (north and south) of the platform but the two RPFs were performing their duty on the northern side of the platform while the incident took place in the southern part of the platform.”

“The reality of the alleged assault and moral policing by the ‘fellow passengers’ and verbal abuse by the concerned young couple is yet to be confirmed,” said Mr Munauvur Khan, senior SC RPF of metro railway, answering to the question if the couple had used abusive language at his fellow passengers.

“ Unless the couple comes forward with a formal complaint, nothing can be confirmed,” claimed the senior SC RPF. According to the general manager, metro railways have received information from their internal intelligence and other sources that the couple had boarded the train from Chandni Chowk and got down at Dum Dum station where the incident was alleged to have taken place.

Mr Vijayvargiya said: “CCTV cameras are presently installed at Dum Dum station platform. However, there are no surveillance cameras installed inside the trains and the station premises ‘cannot be manned by RPF alone’.

Initiatives like installation of additional cameras are being implemented at the platforms and rakes with installed CCTV are to be brought. “The RPF Special Squad including one lady staff has been instructed to remain alert particularly in late evening hours.”

It may be noted that a post on Metro Railway’s Facebook page condemning the young couple for getting cosy at a public place has been circulating presently.

However, the metro railway authorities confirmed the page and the post to be “fake” while saying that they didn’t upload any such post on the social media.

The general manager also appealed to the commuters not to tarnish Kolkata’s cultural heritage or cause inconvenience to fellow passengers.