Passengers served non-veg food on Gatimaan Express, IRCTC suspends employee

New Delhi: The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation(IRCTC) announced on Sunday that it has suspended one of its employees following an incident where passengers who had ordered vegetarian meals were served non-vegetarian food.

The IRCTC stated that it has taken the matter seriously and imposed a heavy fine on the contractor responsible for the food delivery service. Additionally, the employee from the contracted agency has been terminated.

"We have also suspended one IRCTC employee. We are taking measures to ensure incidents like this do not recur. Our focus is on the source kitchen," tweeted the IRCTC.

The incident occurred on Saturday aboard the Gatimaan Express (Train No. 12049) travelling from Veerangana Lakshmibai Railway Station (Jhansi) to Hazrat Nizamuddin.

Passengers Rajesh Kumar Tiwari and his wife, Preeti Tiwari, had ordered vegetarian meals. Tiwari and his wife were in coach C7. After the train departed from Jhansi, the catering staff offered them light snacks. Tiwari requested 'chole' (chickpeas) for himself and a light option for his wife. The staff served them the requested food, but Tiwari noticed pieces of meat in the 'chole'. Tiwari recounted that they informed the staff's supervisor about the meat in their food.

"We told him that there were pieces of meat in the food. The supervisor examined the food and acknowledged its presence but stated that they didn't pack the food. It comes packed from the kitchen, and they only serve it," Tiwari said.

Furthermore, another passenger named Kritika Modi, travelling on the same train from Gwalior to Delhi, complained that she had ordered pasta and 'chole-kulche'. The pasta resembled a pasta roll, but after taking a bite, she realized it contained chicken. She also lodged a complaint, but no action was taken. This incident ruined our entire journey, she added.