The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday directed the Indian Railways to pay a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to national level volleyball player Arunima Sinha whose left leg had to be amputated after she was pushed off a running train last week, a lawyer said.
Arunima was pushed out of the general compartment of the Padmawati Express near Bareilly April 11 while resisting a chain-snatching attempt by some hoodlums while she was travelling from Lucknow to Delhi.
The court ordered the railways to pay the monetary assistance on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Adarsh Mehrotra.
‘In the PIL filed Monday, I cited Arunima’s case and sought the court’s direction on ensuring safety and security of train passengers,’ Mehrotra told reporters here, sharing details about the relief ordered by the court.
‘I also stressed on the need of starting a helpline for redressal of emergent problems of the railway passengers,’ he added.
According to Mehrotra, the next hearing of the case would take place after two weeks.
Arunima, who is now in the orthopaedic department at AIIMS, was brought to the hospital’s Trauma Centre on Monday night after a serious infection was noticed in the amputated leg for which she underwent a second round of surgery at Lucknow’s prestigious King George’s Medical College — now renamed the Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University.
