An argument between a travelling ticket examiner (TTE) and an RPF constable over who would take into custody a ticketless passenger turned into a scuffle, which led to the ransacking of a TTE booth at Howrah station on Sunday. The passenger walked away in the melee.

Iqbal Ansari, the constable, was on duty with TTE Sudip Singh on platform No. 12 of the station. Around 1.45pm, Singh stopped a passenger who was without a ticket. Singh wanted to take him to the TTE office, but Ansari protested and demanded that he be allowed to take the passenger to the RPF booth.

After a heated exchange, Singh, a professional boxer who secured the job under the sports quota, punched Ansari. Bleeding from the blow, the constable retreated to the RPF booth and narrated the incident to his colleagues.

Minutes later, around 20 RPF jawans rushed to the TTE chamber on platform No. 12 and allegedly ransacked it after beating up Singh and his colleague Saurabh Majumdar. As other railways employees tried to separate the brawling duo, the passenger slipped out of the station.

“We have ordered an inquiry. Strict action will be taken against those found guilty,” said an Eastern Railway spokesperson.

“We have received complaints from both the TTE and the constable,” said Taj Mohammad, the officer-in-charge of Government Railway Police (Howrah).

“According to the rules, it is the TTE’s responsibility to take action against a ticket-less passenger. The constable’s duty is to protect the TTE,” said a GRP official.