Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday suspended four officials and ordered an inquiry following the controversy after a train with dilapidated and dirty coaches was provided to ferry Border Security Force (BSF) personnel from Tripura for deployment during the Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir. The minister asserted that the dignity of the security forces is paramount and such negligence will not be tolerated at any level.
The action came a day after the Northeast Frontier Railway Zone dismissed the allegations in a social media post, where users criticised the railways over the condition of the coaches while reacting to videos of the train that surfaced online.
Three senior section engineers and a coaching depot officer of Alipurduar Rail Division have been suspended by the Railway Minister, the press note from the Railway Ministry said. The ministry said that a special train with all facilities has been arranged for smooth and comfortable movement of the security personnel.
About 1,200 BSF troops drawn from 13 companies were scheduled to board a special train on June 6 for Jammu Tawi from Udaipur in Tripura. The train had to make a few stops in between and collect troops from four locations in Tripura, Assam and West Bengal.