Those ticketless passengers are not my relatives: Railway minister

Railway Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan has said that he is not related to the passengers who were recently fined by a Bangladesh Railway (BR) ticket examiner (TTE) for travelling ticketless. 

"I have no relationship with them. Someone may have tried to take advantage by using my name," he said while responding to reporters following the suspension of the TTE on Saturday.

"I have nothing to do with this incident," the minister added.

"But, I have been informed that departmental actions have been taken against a TTE for misbehaving with passengers," Sujan furthered.

Sujan also claimed that he had nothing to do with the suspension order as he does not interfere with the day to day administrative activities of BR.

However, the minister supported the actions taken against the concerned TTE stating that no railway official has the right to treat citizens poorly.

Earlier on Thursday, Shafiqul Islam, the TTE in question working in Ishwardi (West Zone-BR), was suspended for reportedly being rude to passengers.

Railway sources said that the TTE misbehaved with three specific passengers – who introduced themselves as relatives of the railway minister.

The suspension order, conveyed over the phone, was implemented on Friday evening, confirmed Nasir Uddin, Pakshi divisional railway commercial officer (DCO) to The Business Standard on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Shafiqul Islam has refused the allegations.

He claimed that he has been suspended for fining the relatives of the minister. 

Shafiqul said, "I did not misbehave with them. The passengers claimed to be relatives of our minister.

"Out of respect and following discussions with my seniors, they were shifted to a non-AC berth."

According to sources, three passengers boarded Sundarbans Express from Ishwardi railway junction station on Thursday and were going to Dhaka in an AC cabin without tickets.

At one point, on duty Shafiqul asked for their tickets. 

Instead of complying with the query, they introduced themselves as the minister's relatives.

The TTE then fined and gave the three tickets for regular seats in a non-AC coach. The passengers had to pay around Tk1,050 in total.

Later, the trio filed a complaint against the TTE in Dhaka. 

Nasir said that he was informed that a TTE misbehaved with three passengers. 

"Shafiqul was suspended after I was informed about the matter. One show-cause notice has been issued against him. Also, a three-member probe body has been formed to investigate the matter."

Shafiqul has been instructed to clarify his position to the probe body on Sunday.

"Further action will be taken after receiving their report. The suspension may get revoked if Shafiqul is able to provide satisfactory answers," Nasir added.