Water bottle dispute: Caterer loses railway contract, fined for manhandling passenger

Based on GRP Kathua, the passenger Balwan Das, whereas travelling on the Hemkunt Specific on the intervening night time of 6-7 Might, bought a water bottle and observed that the catering service supplier not solely charged Rs 20 as an alternative of Rs 15 but in addition offered him a substandard product.

“He lodged a grievance on 139 (RailMadad), after which employees of the catering agency got here to his berth and manhandled him whereas the prepare was close to Pathankot station. Being a resident of Kathua, he de-boarded right here and lodged a proper grievance primarily based on which we registered a zero FIR,” a GRP official advised PTI on the telephone.

“For the reason that incident occurred in Pathankot, now we have despatched the FIR to the GRP, Pathankot for additional investigation,” the official stated.

“The passenger’s X account is within the title of Mr Vishal from the place he posted the entire video and it went viral,” the official added.

The video confirmed how the employees was threatening and asking Das to return down from the higher berth for elevating complaints of overcharging. When he resisted, the video confirmed one of many staffers climbing on and bashing him. Later, the passenger confirmed damage marks on his hand and alleged that he was badly manhandled and his garments have been torn.

The video was posted by varied social media influencers, elevating the vulnerability of passengers and criticising the absence of the Railway Safety Power (RPF) when the incident occurred.