Recently some shocking media reports came into limelight, which alleged that an old man was denied entry into Shatabadi Express, despite having a confirmed ticket, due to his frugal clothes. As per such reports, he was left stranded at the railway station even as the premium-class train left the Etawah Railway Station after two minutes-halt.
These reports were indeed shocking because they gave the impression that the Indian Railways was following elitist and classist standards as far as its passengers are concerned. This would have been an outright violation of a citizen’s rights and would have otherwise also been a shameful incident narrating how a person wearing dhoti was denied entry into the train allegedly over his style of clothing.
However, the investigation report into this incident tells a completely different story. As per the report, the aggrieved passenger was standing near the power car of the Shatabadi Express instead of the coach in which his ticket was booked. When the passenger tried to board from the power coach, the RPF staff asked him to go towards the coach in which his ticket was confirmed. However, the old man could not reach his coach on time, given that the train has only a two minute-stoppage at the Etawah Railway Station. Therefore, he missed the train. The staff tried to arrange his seat in the next train passing from the railway station but he chose to go by road.
As per the report, when the checking staff enquired about the incident from the RPF staff, the latter also disclosed that since he was not knowing about the details of the passenger, he asked the old man to get down from the power car. The preliminary inquiry into this incident in Etawah has disclosed that the aggrieved passenger was not able to reach his coach in time. The report also makes it clear that he was not discriminated against on the basis of his clothes. The report has further made it clear that the Indian Railways does not follow the policy of discrimination on the basis of the kind of clothes. And that every passenger is given the same kind of treatment.
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The fact remains that this incident might have been the result of slight misunderstanding aggravated by the brief stoppage of the Shatabadi Express. As such the mainstream media should have waited for the inquiry report into this incident instead of sensationalising the incident straight away. This again brings in the limelight the issue of sensational coverage and shoddy reporting.