The Metro report on August 7

The St Xavier’s College student who had alleged that her shoulders had got stuck as the doors of a Metro train closed on them sought an apology from the utility on Friday.

Aatreyee Bhattacharya had been called to the Metro Railway headquarters on Friday, a day after the Metro authorities partially acknowledged her claim.

Metro Railway had earlier said footage of CCTV cameras at the station did not show any such incident.

A senior Metro official is said to have told Aatreyee on Friday that such incidents happened frequently and it was not possible to apologise to every passenger.

“Since Metro responded to my first tweet from its official handle, not that of any official, I have sought a formal apology from the government agency. I only want a formal apology, not a compensation,” Aatreyee, who went to the headquarters with her father and a friend, told this newspaper.

But a senior Metro Railway official said there was no question of an apology. “We have said what we have to through tweets and also explained to the lady what had happened. So now there is no reason for an apology,” he said.

Aatreyee was on Friday shown CCTV footage and corresponding findings from a software that tracks any aberration on a train, Metro sources said.

By evening, Metro had posted a flurry of tweets, prompting Aatreyee to accuse the carrier of changing its stance after the meeting.

“Sensing the obstruction, the doors opened and reclosed allowing her to get in. After that the motor received traction power following which the motorman could start the train. The doors functioned according to design and safety,” read one of the tweets.

Aatreyee shot back: “This was an official meeting, where they admitted to it, and now they’re denying the facts. I was stuck, and the doors NEVER opened on it’s own. A passenger pulled me in. The doors open later on and closed.”

The first-year student of St Xavier’s told Metro that the footage clearly showed she was stuck. “The official who showed me the footage said that I was right.”

A Metro official said she was explained how the door sensors worked — she was considered an infringement and the motors stopped working. “The passengers pulled her in but she could have gone in herself. The train never moved because the safety system worked properly,” said the official.

Aatreyee had tweeted on Tuesday evening that her shoulders had got stuck as the doors of a Metro train closed on them even as she felt the train starting to pull out of Park Street station.

Metro Railway officials replied saying footage of CCTV cameras at the station did not show any such incident. But the carrier has since changed its stance, giving a detailed account of what happened on Tuesday. The account acknowledged that the student was stuck but suggested the train did not move.

The doors of the train Aatreyee boarded opened at 22 seconds past 4.28 pm, according to the Metro account. The door through which she was boarding the train detected an obstruction 40 seconds past 4.28pm, the time when the remaining doors closed. The door with the obstruction closed seven seconds later.

Aatreyee told the officials that while she was stuck, she had felt a jerk and could also see passengers inside the coach moving backwards as the Metro train started pulling out of the station. “One of the officials said that was unlikely but would still look into it,” she said before seeking an apology for the initial denial which she said was in sharp contrast to the explanation being offered now.

“Such incidents happened every day. How can we apologise to every passenger?” an official is said to have told Aatreyee and her father Prasenjit.