BENGALURU: Despite paying the fare and penalty to secure a berth on Rajdhani Express, a 40-year-old passenger without a confirmed ticket was forced to pay an additional amount for food, water and bed linen.The incident happened when Onkar S Gondahalli, a resident of Maharashtra, wanted to travel from Nagpur to Bengaluru on Hazrat Nizamuddin-KSR Bengaluru Rajdhani Express on June 16. Onkar, who works as a security guard in Kalaburagi, boarded the train without a confirmed ticket. Onkar said he was willing to pay the prescribed fare and penalty.While searching for the TTE, he allegedly stumbled upon a coach attendant who asked him for his ticket. “After I informed him of my situation, he contacted the TTE, who arrived a few minutes later. He, however, was not wearing a name badge or a proper uniform,” Onkar told TOI. After a long conversation, the TTE, according to Onkar, demanded Rs 2,500 in total, which included both the ticket fare and penalty.The passenger alleged the TTE asked him to pay the amount to the attendant using UPI. “The payment was sent to his personal account. They allotted me a seat in Coach B7, and the TTE promised to give a receipt later,” Onkar added.According to rules, after collecting excess fare, a TTE must immediately issue excess fare ticket (EFT), hand the passenger a copy and later remit the collected cash or digital receipts to the railway administration. However, in this particular case, the TTE was never to be seen once payment was made.While Onkar got a seat, he said there was no way to prove that he had paid the fine. Pouncing on this opportunity, the catering staff allegedly demanded additional payment for a meal. “Despite paying money like any other passenger, I had to pay again for food, drinking water, and also, bedroll services.” Alleging violation of rules, the passenger filed a complaint with transaction details and pictures of the officials to the divisional railway manager, Bengaluru, a day later.South Western Railway (SWR), Bengaluru division, said an internal inquiry was ordered on July 29. “Appropriate action will be taken based on inquiry findings, a senior official said.
