Even as a high-level inquiry into the incident was still in progress, Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav on Friday issued suspension orders of a senior official who had asked RJD MPs for their travelling authority in Rajdhani Express last month.
The Minister’s unilateral action of suspending Additional DRM of Allahabad, A.K. Singh, angered the Railway employees of the division to go on a lightening strike today, disrupting movement of trains. The official had earlier been transferred to the Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi.
Singh had reportedly asked some RJD MPs travelling in the Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani for their identity cards. The MPs, however, had alleged that he misbehaved with them and that he was in an inebriated condition. The MPs included Minister of State for Communications Shakeel Ahmed, Raghunath Jha and Devendra Yadav.
In the Lok Sabha, an irate Laloo had announced an inquiry into the incident. According to sources, two senior Railway Board officials—Executive Directors, Vigilance and Commercial—were probing the allegations.
‘‘Even as the inquiry is still on, the Minister has gone ahead and suspended the official. Who will dare to check tickets of VIPs and MPs in trains after this,’’ asked an official, adding that a bad precedent had been set.
According to officials, Singh had personally come to check their travel authority at Allahabad on April 29, after a TTE at Kanpur complained of being manhandled.
The MPs took up the issue in the Lok Sabha following which, Laloo ordered the inquiry, alleging a conspiracy against him and his party.