LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: Here is the story of a nightmare train journey and a man who won't give up on his fight for justice.

Michael Aravopoulos was simply trying to get home when he was set upon by six ticket inspectors. He claims they dragged him onto a train platform in Melbourne and bashed him and witnesses back that story.

Now 7.30 has obtained graphic footage of the incident supporting Mr Aravopolous's claims.

He's been offered a lot of cash to settle the case, but as Guy Stayner reports, it's not money that Michael Aravopolous is after.

GUY STAYNER, REPORTER: Returning to this little suburban railway station in Melbourne's north-east brings back horrible memories for Michael Aravopoulos.

MICHAEL ARAVOPOLOUS: I feel like this is the place where I got tortured when I first got here. I don't know how to put it, but had it not been for three people, you know, I wouldn't be here standing talking to you.

GUY STAYNER: His nightmare began around 10.30 at night on a city-bound train in 2008. He can be seen on security video reading a newspaper when approached by a ticket inspector.

MICHAEL ARAVOPOLOUS: And he said to me, "Why have you got your foot on the chair?" So I've put the paper down and I said, "What foot on the chair?"

GUY STAYNER: An argument developed and he asked another passenger for contact details so he could lodge a complaint for harassment. When the ticket inspector tried to stop him from speaking to the witness, the argument escalated.

MICHAEL ARAVOPOLOUS: I was bewildered, to say the least, and I couldn't believe why this was happening.

GUY STAYNER: Mr Aravopoulos tried to go get off the train, but was blocked and told he was resisting arrest. When he tried to disembark a second time, he was set upon.

The last time he's seen on the video, he's lifted off his feet and removed from the train. Six ticket inspectors got off with him at Dennis Station.

MICHAEL ARAVOPOLOUS: I thought that that's it, this is the end, you know. That's how I felt.

KIM PRICE, LAWYER: Michael had a valid ticket, he was on the train minding his own business. And he was set upon by first one and then a pack of ticket inspectors. He was provoked and attacked.

GUY STAYNER: What happened on the platform is in dispute. It wasn't recorded by security cameras.

HELEN BOWMAN, WITNESS: I was woken by the screams of somebody who was really in pain.

GUY STAYNER: Helen Bowman lives near Dennis Station and went to see what was happening.

HELEN BOWMAN: He was face down on the ground and he was being held there by a number of these men while somebody else had his arm twisted up, in a really unnatural angle up, and he was being beaten effectively, he was being kicked.

GUY STAYNER: She estimates the inspectors had Mr Aravopoulos pinned to the platform for 20 minutes.

HELEN BOWMAN: They behaved in a way that was completely thuggish.

GUY STAYNER: A passenger called triple 0 saying, "This guy just got fully brutalised on the train," "... thrown off the train, head smashed into the concrete ... repeated times"...

MICHAEL ARAVOPOLOUS: I was tortured and maimed, that's all I can say. My mouth was on the ground and they were rubbing my whole face into the ground. I was in that much pain that my nous wasn't functioning probably.

GUY STAYNER: Physicist Russell Anderson was another witness who tried to intervene.

How would you describe the behaviour of the ticket inspectors?

RUSSELL ANDERSON, WITNESS: It was aggressive and it seemed like the force they were using was disproportionate.

GUY STAYNER: What makes you say it was disproportionate?

RUSSELL ANDERSON: Well, they were - as I say, there was at least one person sitting on him at the time and his face was being pushed into the bitumen of the platform and he wasn't resisting arrest.

GUY STAYNER: That was disputed by an ambulance officer who said Mr Aravopoulos was agitated and was resisting arrest. It was also disputed by the then train operator Connex.

CONNEX SPOKESPERSON: We're satisfied that we actually operated to the code of conduct that the authorised officers adhere to. We are satisfied that they didn't exceed their powers.

GUY STAYNER: There's little doubt that Michael Aravopoulos was argumentative with ticket inspectors on the night. He admits being abusive and verbally threatening them. But his description of events on the train is largely verified by the security vision. The inspectors allege Mr Aravopoulos was physically aggressive and they feared for their safety and the safety of other passengers, but much of their evidence is contradicted by the video.

KIM PRICE: The ticket inspectors have accused Michael of throwing himself around the train, threatening other passengers and attempting to flee. The video footage does not show that at all.

HELEN BOWMAN: No matter what he was doing, nothing could warrant him being bashed up, and effectively, he was bashed up.

GUY STAYNER: Michael Aravopoulos suffers from schizophrenic and a rare form of haemophilia.

MICHAEL ARAVOPOLOUS: I was in hospital for 12 days. I had internal bleeding. I had a severe dislocated elbow.

GUY STAYNER: No-one has ever been charged over the incident. The inspector at the centre of dispute was Timothy Graham Bwursky (phonetic spelling), who is now a Thai boxing trainer Canberra. Police drafted a charge of recklessly causing serious injury against him, but dropped the case. They said conflicting statements from witnesses meant there was insufficient evidence to prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt.

Are you surprised that there hasn't been a criminal prosecution in this matter?

KIM PRICE: We're very surprised. We think he's got a strong case.

GUY STAYNER: This incident isn't isolated. At the end of 2010 Ombudsman George Brouwer was so concerned about the use of excessive force by ticket inspectors he said it was in the public interest to release security video of four other violent confrontations. Since then there have been another 12 complaints against inspectors for using excessive force. The Victorian Department of Transport found all were unsubstantiated. But in his case, Michael Aravopoulos rejected an out of court settlement of $225,000.

MICHAEL ARAVOPOLOUS: I said, "I don't care how much money you try and give me, I'm gonna have my day in court, because I'm a subject of the Queen and I have constitutional rights." And that's what I'm endeavouring to do.

GUY STAYNER: The Director of Public Prosecutions is now reviewing the case. Four years on, Michael Aravopoulos remains determined to test the inspector's evidence in court.

MICHAEL ARAVOPOLOUS: It's just not right, the way that I was treated. Not even wild animals get treated like that. I wish to have my day in court and justice to be served.

LEIGH SALES: It'll be interesting to see what happens with that. Guy Stayner with that report.

EDITOR'S NOTE, 5 JULY: The introductory graphic to this story shows a Metro logo however Connex was the operator of the rail network at the time of the incident and Metro had no involvement.

EDITOR'S NOTE, 12 JULY: Since airing this program, the ABC has learned that Timothy Buirski passed away shortly before it was broadcast.