In a bizarre incident, a passenger travelling from Bhopal to Jabalpur found a dead cockroach in his thali. The incident came to light after the passenger – Dr Shubhendu Keshari – took to X to post about his experience. In his post dated February 3, Dr Keshari uploaded four photos showing the non-veg thali and the closeup of the dead insect in it. He also posted the copy of the official complaint that he lodged with the West central Railway.

In his post on X, Dr Keshari said that he was ‘traumatised’ when he noticed ‘dead COCKROACH’ in the food packet that was given to him by the railway staff. He also gave the details of his ticket in his X post.

In his formal complaint, Dr Keshari also gave details of his co-passenger, Rajesh Shrivastava, as a witness to the incident.

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Soon after the post went viral on the social media, the IRCTC responded with an apology and wrote, “Sir, our sincere apology for the experience you had. The matter is viewed seriously, and the hefty penalty has been imposed on the concerned service provider. Moreover, monitoring has been strengthened at the source.”

While this is not the first time that such an incident has come to light, the Railways has been trying to implement stricter hygiene norms. Last year in September, the Railway Board had issued a directive to various railway zones and the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to promptly implement a series of measures aimed at addressing complaints and grievances regarding catering services on Vande Bharat trains. These actions were intended to elevate the dining experience for passengers and enhance the overall quality of services provided.

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According to PTI, in an official communication, the Railway Board had outlined several key steps to be taken by all zonal railways, IRCTC, and the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) to address concerns regarding hygiene, service quality, and food availability on Vande Bharat trains.