In audio clip, PAC man heard telling Railway officer: ‘Tumhara baap bol rahen hain’

Three members of the PAC — Ashok Tripathi, a BJP functionary from Haryana with Varanasi links, Irafan Ahmed, a functionary of the BJP’s minority cell, and L P Jayaswal — were given rooms in the Officers’ Rest House in Moradabad division of Northern Railway on their arrival from Jhansi early Thursday. They were supposed to carry out an inspection of passenger facilities at Moradabad station in the morning.

Around 2 am, Tripathi allegedly had a conversation with Divisional Engineer (Headquarters) Amit Kumar, during which he hurled curses and said “tumhara baap bol rahen hain”. An audio clip of the purported conversion has been accessed by The Indian Express.

According to the officials, the PAC members, especially Tripathi, were angry as there was no TV in the rest house. Tripathi also complained that the air-conditioner in his room was not working.

The next morning, the divisional electrical staff found the ACs were fine. Rooms in railway officers’ rest houses in small towns like Moradabad do not have TVs.

The officers wrote to headquarters in protest. “It has lowered the morale of officers,” said the letter, which was endorsed by two railway unions. Staff at the Moradabad division wore black badges in protest. They also drew parallels with the Rajendra Gaikwad-Air India episode, in which the Shiv Sena MP abused an airline staffer and was barred from flying for weeks.

When contacted, Tripathi denied abusing railway officers. “We were raising issues, like how some officers were stationed in one place for years. So they concocted the story,” he said.

“I know there is an audio clip, but it does not have the whole conversation,” he told The Indian Express. “We are working so hard to see that (PM Narendra) Modiji’s and (Railway Minister) Suresh Prabhuji’s vision for Indian Railways is implemented.”

Divisional Railway Manager Moradabad Pramod Kumar, the head of the division, said the inspection by the committee the next morning highlighted minor issues. “They found that water pressure was less in one of the taps and one platform shade had fewer fans. The incident is supposed to have happened in the night, much before the inspection,” he told The Indian Express. Kumar has conveyed the incident to the Northern Railway General Manager for further action.

The PAC is formed by the Railway Minister. The members get free First AC pass, and AC-II pass while travelling with spouses. They are entitled to allowances and monthly honorarium.