5 board spl train sans ticket, fined ₹32,000

5 board spl train sans ticket, fined ₹32,000

Rohan Dua & Arindam Ghosh TNN

New Delhi:  15.05.2020

A family of five passengers aboard the New Delhi-Bengaluru special AC train was slapped with a fine of ₹32,000 by the railways for travelling without a valid ticket.

This is the first instance of such a violation after the trains were launched to facilitate inter-state journeys beginning May 11 amid the lockdown with Covid-related restriction in place. Passengers Prem Naryan, Gaurav Pal, Jasada, Neeraj Pal and Jitender Pal were detained at Jhansi railway station on Wednesday night and allowed to leave the Railway Protection Force (RPF) detention centre only after they parted with the money.

The penalty included the “double fare” between Delhi and Jhansi, at ₹15,170 per trip, for five and an additional GST charge of ₹1,476. The travellers have also been booked under the Railway Rules, Jhansi railway officials said. “All of them were travelling without valid tickets. As they didn’t have the amount, one of them called a relative. After he paid the fine, they were released,” Sandeep Mathur, DRM, Jhansi, said.

When contacted, Narayan, one of the passengers, said, “We don’t know how our ticket got cancelled. We have been fined. Whatever was done was as per the law, so I have no issues.”