An 82-year- old train passenger draped in ‘unstitched cloth’ and ‘dhoti’ was denied entry into Delhi-bound Kanpur-New Delhi Shatabdi Express on Thursday morning, despite having a confirmed ticket.
The passenger Ram Awadh Das accused the Government Railways Police (GRP) of not letting him board the train as he was dressed ‘differently’. However, he did not mention it (that he was denied entry because of his dress) in the written complaint to North Central Railways (NCR).
“I am shocked. It seems as if we are still living in the British era. Though I had the ticket, still the GRP personnel and the coach attendant denied me entry into the train as I was dressed differently. I am aghast and pained at their behaviour,” said Ram Awadh Das, a seer who hails from Barabanki and was going from Etawah to Ghaziabad.
Das said he kept on insisting that he had a confirmed ticket but to no avail.. “They said ‘Baba tum galat train mein chadh gaye ho (you have stepped into a wrong train). Your train is in Kanpur and will reach Etawah in next couple of hours’,” he added.
The incident was reported at Etawah station from where Ram Awadh Das, whose PNR no. was 2164371556 and who had a confirmed seat (No 71) in C2 coach, was supposed to board. Das had a reservation from Etawah to Ghaziabad, where he was going to see his followers.
“Baba visits our residence in Etawah every rainy season to carry out a religious ceremony and then he was supposed to board Shatabdi to leave for Ghaziabad,” said Sujata Dubey, a staunch follower of Ram Awadh Das. She said Das originally belonged to Barabanki district.
In the written complaint, the seer blamed the GRP personnel and an attendant for not letting him board the train.
“By the time I reached another coach, the train left,” states the seer’s complaint filed at Etawah station.
Chief public relation officer (CPRO) NCR Ajit Kumar Singh said as per the inquiry the elderly passenger had wrongly boarded power car and was told to board another coach. Since the train had just two-minute stoppage at Etawah station, it left by the time he managed to reach another coach.
However, Singh said there was need to counsel the staff at the station and to sensitise them towards elderly train passengers. They should have guided him to the right coach.