A Muslim woman was publicly harassed, frisked, and subjected to verbal abuse aboard a train travelling from Silchar in Assam, a video of which has gone viral on social media, drawing widespread condemnation and prompting calls for action from political leaders, including AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.
The incident reportedly took place on May 16 aboard a Silchar-Guwahati passenger train. According to local reports, the victim, identified in social media posts as Shamshad and described as a Muslim woman, was travelling towards Dimapur in Nagaland when a group of co-passengers began interrogating and searching her belongings inside the moving train.
The victim, who was wearing a kurta with a scarf covering her head and carrying several bags, was allegedly frisked, verbally abused, and called “Bangladeshi” during the ordeal. The video, which shows the victim visibly distressed, was reportedly broadcast live on Facebook by a member of the group.
Who led the group
The woman leading the group allegedly identified herself as Madhumita Roy, also known on Facebook as Madhumita Roy Mou, and claimed to be the wife of the officer in charge of the Rangirkhari Police Outpost in Silchar. Despite reportedly finding nothing suspicious during the search, the group allegedly continued questioning the victim, scrutinising her documents, and subjected her to prolonged humiliation. According to local outlet Barak Bulletin, which first reported the story, the victim is a resident of Badripar in Cachar district whose father serves in the police department and whose brother is employed with the Border Security Force.
Critics and rights activists weigh in
The incident has drawn sharp criticism from rights activists and observers who have described it as a clear case of moral policing and discriminatory harassment. Social media users have questioned how a group of private individuals could take it upon themselves to conduct an unauthorised search and interrogation inside a train compartment, and have demanded to know what authority, if any, the group believed they possessed.
Many observers noted that if the passengers genuinely had security concerns, the correct course of action would have been to alert the Railway Protection Force or other railway security personnel rather than publicly humiliating a fellow passenger.
