A 45-year-old cancer patient died aboard the Gitanjali Express (12859), travelling from Mumbai to Howrah, on Saturday, October 24, with passengers alleging that his body remained inside the train for around 12 hours despite railway authorities being informed of his death in the morning.
Binod Paswan, a resident of West Bengal Bhatpara, was returning after undergoing treatment at Mumbai's Tata Memorial Hospital. The train was running nearly 12 hours behind schedule when the incident occurred.
The body was eventually taken off the train at Tatanagar Junction station in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur on Saturday night.
According to passengers, Paswan was travelling in the train's M-2 coach when he died on Saturday morning.
They claimed that the ticket examiner (TTE) was informed about the incident around 8 am and that they were told a medical examination would be conducted to confirm the death.
However, no concrete action was taken for several hours, leaving the body inside the coach while other passengers continued their journey alongside it, they alleged.
Distressed by the delay, passengers sought medical assistance and demanded that the body be removed at the earliest.
After they failed to get a resolution, one of the passengers raised the issue on social media around 7 pm by tagging the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and using the Rail Madad grievance platform.
The train reached the Tatanagar station at around 8.30 pm, where the body was eventually deboarded.
OFFICIALS DISPUTE PASSENGERS' VERSION
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (Sr DCM) of the Chakradharpur railway division, Aditya Chaudhary, gave a different version of events.
According to the official, railway authorities received information at 7.45 pm that a passenger was lying unconscious in the M-2 coach of train number 12859.
After the train reached Tatanagar, a doctor present at the station examined the passenger and declared him dead.
Chaudhary said the matter was being investigated.
The differing accounts have raised questions over when railway staff were first informed about the passenger's condition and what action was taken in response.
PASSENGERS COMPLAIN OF POOR FACILITIES
The incident also brought to the fore passengers' complaints about the condition of the train, which was already running around 12 hours late.
Passengers alleged that the coaches were poorly maintained, and the toilets were in a deplorable condition.
They also complained of difficulties with accessing food and drinking water during the prolonged journey, particularly for children, elderly passengers and women.
According to the passengers, food was not adequately available, forcing them to buy items from unauthorised vendors at exorbitant prices.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Kunal Sarangi also raised the issue on social media. In a post on X, he tagged Vaishnaw and described the entire episode as shameful.
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