A senior Railways officer in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad has been suspended after he was caught on camera throwing biscuits at some migrants – passengers of a Shramik special train – along with his team members and shouting expletives at them.
The three-minute clip, shot on Monday, shows some Railways employees distributing packets of biscuits at a station in west UP’s Firozabad, about 300 km from state capital Lucknow.
DK Dixit, the chief inspector of ticket, is seen leading the team. The officials can be seen throwing biscuits at the passengers of a Shramik special train, shouting abuses and mocking the migrants.
One of the employees is heard saying: “The biscuits are being distributed because it’s Mr Dikshit’s birthday”.
When some passengers ask for biscuit packets, they are told: “Abhi to diya. Baant ke khao (We just gave one. Share and eat):”
This video was shared on one of the local Railways officers’ WhatsApp group and then made its way to social media.
“Strict disciplinary action has been taken again these railway employees including the suspension of the CIT DK Dixit,” the Railways tweeted as the clip sparked outrage.
Visuals from across the country have captured the desperation and misery of migrants trying to return their homes after they were stranded n March without jobs, food and money due to coronavirus lockdown. While special trains were started for them earlier this month, many of them have complained of a lack of proper facilities on these trains.
Last week, some passengers in Delhi were seen fighting for food and water.
On Friday, the Supreme Court told center to devise a uniform policy for their travel as it grilled the government over the handling of the crisis.
