Surat Train Hawker’s Arrest, Not Because Of Mimicry: Railways

Surat: A hawker who sells toys on trains was arrested by Railway Protection Force from Surat railway platform on Friday after a video of him mimicking politicians started doing the rounds on the internet.

The hawker identified as Avdhesh Dubey is a native of Varanasi. In a six-minute-long video, Dubey can be seen performing a parody of a host of politicians in a bid to sell his toys. The politicians include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi also Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Dubey had migrated to Valsad two years back in search of employment and has been selling toys to train passengers travelling between Vapi and Surat.

He has been booked under several sections of Railway Act, including section 44 (prohibition on hawking and begging), 145 B (spreading nuisance or using abusive language in railway carriage), 147 (unlawful entry into train), among others.

Railway Protection Force Inspector (Surat) Ishwar Singh Yadav told a leading daily that Dubey was booked for unauthorised vending. However, Yadav added that the clip went viral and the way he interacted with customers was impressive.

Dubey was produced before a Railway court on Friday afternoon and sent to judicial custody for 10 days.

Railway Magistrate speaking on his past records said that he is a habitual offender and has been booked for the 12th time in this case.

Watch the video here:

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