Railways job for athlete attacked on train

Agencies

Bareilly/New Delhi, 14 April 2011:  When Arunima Sinha boarded a train to Delhi from Lucknow, she was thinking of her future. The national-level volleyball player wanted to join a recruitment drive for the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that was to take place in Noida. Instead, after being attacked by three men on the train, she is now in hospital. She has lost her left leg and has serious head injuries.

 

"My dream has broken into pieces", she says. "I just want to urge whoever has the power to help me to be independent. I never want to be a burden on anyone."

 

Arunima was in a general compartment when late at night, as her train passed through Bareilly, three men walked into her compartment and tried to grab her gold chain. When she resisted, they pushed her out. The athlete fell on the tracks and another approaching train ran over her leg. Her assaulters ran away and are yet to be traced.

 

All her life, 23-year-old Arunima has shown fierce independence. She is the youngest of three children belonging to a lower middle-class family. Her father worked as a jawan in the Army. Her mother is a supervisor with the health department.

 

She talks about how she once contested against men to make it to UP’s volleyball team. "There were not enough girls, so they combined our try-outs with boys. It was a tough game, but I did well and the coach told me I had been selected."

 

Arunima went on to represent her state in tournaments in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh and while her sport was her passion, she needed to earn a living that would help support her family. A career in the paramilitary services seemed a good option.

 

"Organizations like the Central Reserve Police Force and the Border Security Force promote sportsmen, allow them to take the time to participate in tournaments," she said.

 

Sports Minister Ajay Maken has announced Rs. 25,000 as compensation for her. The Railways Ministry has announced this evening that it will give her a job. It will also bear the entire cost of her rehabilitation including the medical expenses.

 

Her sister, Lakshmi, says, "I just want the state government and the Railways to ensure that whatever happened to my sister does not happen to any other girl."

 

In New Delhi, Railway Board Chairman Vivek Sahai said that usually, a train that has 24 coaches has four security guards. "We run 11,765 trains a day out of which about 3,500 trains are escorted by the Railway Protection Force," he said.