RTI Requests

Public Information Officer

Railway Board,

Ministry of Railways

Rail Bhavan

New Delhi 110001

This is an application under the RTI Act. Postal Order for Rs 10/ as required is attached.

I started travel on 09 December ’11 from Guwahati on train no 14055 Brahmaputra Mail in 2A class. At Rangiya station, as many as 60 unregistered hawkers and beggars entered the single 2AC compartment in the train. One after the other the hawkers were selling keychains, tea, soap, peanuts, sweets. Bootpolishers, handicapped beggars, even hijras entered in large numbers. The situation continued in most stations from Rangiya to Patna. The TTE with a group of friends was sitting in the 2A compartment, all relaxing and having tea and especially prepared snacks ordered without payment from the pantry.  On complaint being made to the TTE, he and his friend replied that it is a daily occurence. The TTE pleaded that if a complaint is lodged senior offices will make him scapegoat and pretend as if it was a onetime aberration, which is not the truth. The hawkers, beggars, and hijras pay off the rail attendant, rail staff, and rail police. The paying passenger is shortchanged. Due to the large number of hawkers, many passengers especially children had food spilt on them, or passenger luggage damaged or stolen, and other incidents. After a while, a whole group of TTE came and sat there. They were from other coaches because passengers from SL and 3A and other classes kept coming asking for berths etc. All rail staff leaving their place of posting and sitting together in the highest available accomodation thus stealing from the honestly paying passenger is a common occurence which rail authorities pretend not to know or deliberately take ineffective steps to check. The TTEs kept asking the pantry staff for tea and snacks. The TTEs were sitting in the coupe with berth number 25 to 28. Another tall man appeared from somewhere. When passengers came after a few stations to these berths most of the TTEs left but this tall man kept shifting from one berth to another between berth number 25 to 28. The tall man was drunk and was staring at pasengers. I informed the TTE but TTE expressed helplessness. I reminded him that if  he wants he can call the Railway Protection Force. The TTE then whispered to me that he cannot do much as the man was a constable or some such level of police or similar force and had only been allotted a berth in 3A or SL but wanted to enjoy in 2A so was present here occupying any vacant berth. Passenger on berth number 30 also appeared from police or similar force as he had some kind of understanding with the tall man. Both were in civil clothing. Passenger on berth number 30 seemed legitimate occupant of berth number 30 as no other passenger came to claim that berth. As I had complained about the tall drunk man he learnt about it and kept staring at me even more. Then in a stretch of the journey when there were no other occupant in coupe of berths 25 to 28 the tall man pulled the curtain. My mobile phone was behind the curtain connected to the socket for charging.  Behind the curtain I thought the tall man must be putting his clothing in order etc but the man was using the privacy to tamper and damage my mobile phone. I did not know this so mobile phone remained there for charging. The tall men left th compsrtmen and maybe he train, at Delh Jn. On end of my journey my focus was on taking all the luggage and not leaving anything behind as is the normal concern for any passenger. I collected my mobile phone and charger also. Only on reaching home I realized that mobile phone had been tampered with and was damaged. What else can be expected of a drunk policeman being deliberately allowed to travel in a class which was not for him?  The TTE did not record the complaint, and I did not insist hard. It was the duty of railways to stop undeserving persons in the compartment. They need to do so without any complaint from any passenger. Moreover we all know how police can behave like goondas and wreck vengeance on citizens who complain about them. All over the country every year, there are large number of incidents every year of such type.

Queries in this RTI aplication are:

1. Whether Indian Railways have made an estimate of annual theft of baggage of passengers which would include both reported and unreported incidents? If no, why not, and when will such estimate be made available? If yes, what is the figure for the latest year for which estimate is available?

2. Whether Indian Railways have made an estimate of bribes obtained by rail staff and rail police, separately, for allowing and facilitating unlawful entry into the train and the compartment, thereby allowing and facilitating theft of passengers baggage? If no, why not, and when will such estimate be made available? If yes, what is the figure for the latest year for which estimate is available?

3. Whether Indian Railways have made an estimate of annual incidents of molestation and rape of passengers which would include both reported and unreported incidents? If no, why not, and when will such estimate be made available? If yes, what is the figure for the latest year for which estimate is available? Figure needed separately for the  Northeast region.

4. Whether Indian Railways have made an estimate of bribes obtained by rail staff and rail police, separately, for allowing and facilitating unlawful entry into the train and the compartment and waiting halls, of antisocial elements with the specific aim of molestation and rape of passengers? If no, why not, and when will such estimate be made available? If yes, what is the figure for the latest year for which estimate is available? Figure needed separately for the  Northeast region.

5. Whether Indian Railways have made an estimate of revenue loss on account of rail staff and rail police travelling in class for which they are not officially entitled? If no, why not, and when will such estimate be made available? If yes, what is the figure for the latest year for which estimate is available? Estimate figures need to be given separately from different classes of travel, that is 1A, 2A, 3A, SL, 2S, unreserved, etc.

6. Whether Indian Railways have made an estimate of free tea, snacks, meals, extorted by rail staff and rail police from train pantry, station pantry, hawkers on train, hawkers on station? If no, why not, and when will such estimate be made available? If yes, what is the figure for the latest year for which estimate is available?

7. Whether Indian Railways have made any study of how hawkers and pantry are making up for losses occuring on account of of free tea, snacks, meals, extorted by rail staff and rail police from train pantry, station pantry, hawkers on train, hawkers on station, and what proportion of such loss is being recovered by lowering of quantity of food being supplied to the paying passenger and what proportion by lowering of quality of food being supplied to the paying passenger for instance by supplying nonfoodgrade plastic spoon or adulterated raw material, which cannot be checked by your checking staff and their superiors as they have already been compromised by being bribed off? If no, why not, and when will such study be made available? If yes, where can the study be accessed by the public?

8. Whether arrangements have been made for frisking, checking, and background checks of hawkers, beggars, hijras, etc entering the compartments to rule out militants, arsonists, miscreants, criminals, and to prevent bomb attacks etc., particularly in Maoist affected and disturbed areas? Whether frisking, checking, and background checks of hawkers, beggars, hijras, etc entering compartment A1 at stations and other stops from Kamkhya to Lalgarh in train no 14055 Brahmaputra Mail that started from Guwahati on 9 December 11 was carried out to rule out militants, arsonists, miscreants, criminals, and to prevent bomb attacks etc., particularly in Maoist affected and disturbed areas? If not why not, and whether railways are then guilty of deficiency of service and antinational activity, and willing to pay compensation for putting passengers lives wantonly at risk? What will be the amount of compensation per kilometre and per station per passnger and how and when will it be disbursed?

9. Whether arrangements have been made for testing of food items being supplied by unauthorized hawkers whose entry into compartments in different classes 1A, 2A, 3A, SL, 2S, unreserved, etc has been facilitated by bribes taken by rail staff and rail police? Whether testing of food items being supplied by unauthorized hawkers in compartment A1 at stations and other stops from Kamkhya to Lalgarh in train no 14055 Brahmaputra Mail that started from Guwahati on 9 December 11 was carried out? If not why not, and whether railways are then guilty of deficiency of service and willing to pay compensation for putting passengers lives wantonly at risk? What will be the amount of compensation per kilometre and per station per passenger and how and when will it be disbursed?

10. Will the compensation so offered be for both immediate health damage like poisoning and for longterm health damage including diabetes,  kidney damage and cirrhosis? If not why not, and whether railways are then guilty of deficiency of service and willing to pay compensation for putting passengers lives wantonly at risk? What will be the amount of compensation per kilometre and per station per passenger and how and when will it be disbursed?

11. Whether Indian Railways have made an estimate of money equivalent of value stolen from paying passengers on account of disturbance, spilt food, children lost, old pasengers not able to reach toilet in time, intrusion in sleep, etc suffered by paying passengers on acount of unauthorized persons present in the compartment allowed and facilitated by bribed rail staff and rail police, for which the paasengers could not claim compensation due to lack of clarity of rules, and rail staff and rail police discouraging claims due to their having taken bribes? If no, why not, and when will such estimate be made available? If yes, what is the figure for the latest year for which estimate is available? Estimate figures need to be given separately from different classes of travel, that is 1A, 2A, 3A, SL, 2S, unreserved, etc.

12. In the incidents of the journey in compartment A1 in train no 14055 Brahmaputra Mail that started from Guwahati on 9 December 11 related above, how could cost of mobile and other damages for lack of privacy etc be recovered and in what time frame after claim is filed will amount be released?

13. In train no 14055 Brahmaputra Mail that started from Guwahati on 9 December 11, how many berths were vacant, not booked, and booked but no show, in each sector of the journey in coach A1? Of the reserved berths, how many were paid from govt accounts, which include Rail passes and PTOs, as well as other govt sources? In each sector of the journey, how many persons were occupying space in the coach for which they were not entitled, including TTEs, police personnel and other govt staff? A number of passengers who boarded from Patna and other stations complained that while they had to buy in Tatkal scheme, a large number of berths were vacant, as could be physically seen and verified. Indeed how many berths were vacant at each stage?