BENGALURU: A group of migrants from Bihar on board a Shramik Special train from Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna railway station to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, were in for a shock on Sunday evening when two men approached before the departure of the train and demanded they pay up the train fare of Rs 905 to their destination. The identity of the individuals who approached them is still not known, and investigations are on to assess if they are Railways staff or individuals impersonating railway officials.
The issue came to light when a volunteer citizen movement, Whitefield Rising, tweeted about it, tagging top railway officials and the City Police Commissioner last night. NGO Compassion in Action (CIA) was the first to get a call in this connection from a passenger Mukesh, onboard S10. CIA general secretary Immanuel Prince told TNIE, “My aunt Silvia Sharma, part of our NGO, got a call from a worried Mukesh, and I spoke to him later. Two individuals, clad in white shirts and black trousers ordered Mukesh and a few others from Bihar to pay their ticket fare of Rs 905 each. They also threatened to offload those who did not pay up. A few even paid whatever they had.”
The specific attire is generally worn by Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs), who work in the commercial department.A representative of Whitefield Rising said that railway officials took action after they were apprised of the issue. “We got to know that the individuals who demanded money continued to two other coaches and again demanded ticket fare,” she said.Senior Divisional Commercial Manager A N Krishna Reddy said, “Investigation is on by the Railway Protection Force. The truth will come to light when it’s complete.”