RailEnquiry

Three days after Kameshwar Baitha, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MP from Palamu MP, was taken ill after having dinner on the 12240 Ranchi Rajdhani, he was flown from Dhanbad to the capital on Tuesday and admitted to RML Hospital. Seven other passengers had also fallen ill after eating food served on the train.

    Speaking to reporters, Baitha lashed out at the railways and said it was increasingly putting the common man at the mercy of the catering mafia. “There are only a couple of contractors and they are providing stale food. How else can one explain a Varanasi-based contractor supplying food on a train from Delhi to Ranchi?’’

    Northern Railways officials said they had taken note of the incident. “The CPRO of Northern Railway along with the CCM (catering) visited Baitha at the hospital and assured him that proper action was being taken. We have sent the food samples to a Delhi hospital for tests and the results are expected on Wednesday,” an official said.

    “Another sample has been sent to Lucknow for analysis and we expect the results in the next eight days. We have already issued a showcause to the catering agency — Ambuj Caterers of Varanasi — and fined them Rs 2.5 lakh. If need be, we will file an FIR,” the official said.

    Passengers travelling on at least four coaches fell sick after dinner. Those affected were the ones who had the vegetarian thali, suggesting that the paneer served could have been of poor quality or cooked badly.

Passengers aboard the Ranchi Rajdhani fell ill after having dinner on Saturday