Kerala family alleges discrimination by Rajdhani Express staff

A Muslim family has alleged ill-treatment by railway staff of the Rajdhani Express while travelling from Panvel, Maharashtra to Kozhikode, Kerala on June 9.

According to a woman from the family, who wishes to remain anonymous, trouble started when they requested fresh blankets from the railway staff.

“When we reached our seat, there was already a person sleeping. When we told them this is our seat, the person got up and left. We requested fresh blankets from the railway staff. This, I suppose, the staff did not like. When we complained to the ticket collector, he chided them for not doing their work properly and finally we were provided new blankets,” the woman told MediaoneTV Live.

When the woman was about to sleep, the same staff came up to her and asked their names. “They asked if we were Muslims, and we replied in affirmative. They left afterwards,” the woman said.

The following day of the travel, the woman alleged that breakfast was served late. “We were the only family who did not receive our breakfast. We ordered bread and an omelette. The staff said that a ‘special breakfast was being prepared for them’,” the woman said.

The woman grew suspicious. While she did not inform her family about the previous night’s encounter, she stated that she felt uneasy after consuming the bread and vomited.

“The staff repeated the same thing for lunch. This time, when we opened our food packets, a foul odour emerged. Everybody was looking at us,” the woman said.

Her family members questioned the staff about the quality of the food served. “I started recording the incident as proof. Initially, they refused anything wrong but when we complained to the food manager, the staff admitted the food served was discarded food,” the woman said.

As soon as the railway staff admitted their mistake, they asked us not to report the incident and wanted to ‘compromise’, the woman said. “They said we would face many inconveniences if we report the incident,” the woman added.

Expressing her concern over the dangerous consequences of the incident, the woman told MediaoneTV Live, “Their purpose was to poison us. What if it would have led to a death of a family member? I don’t know why we were subjected to such treatment by the Railways. Was it because of our religious identities?” she asked.

When asked if her family will file a legal complaint, she replied positively. “We have the video as proof. However, I am disappointed that when we really needed support, it was not provided,” she added.