TTE suspended for fining ‘relatives’ of railways minister for travelling ticketless

A travelling ticket examiner (TTE) of the Bangladesh Railway (BR) on Thursday was suspended for reportedly being rude to three passengers who were fined for travelling ticketless.

Railway sources have said that the TTE misbehaved with the passengers – who introduced themselves as relatives of Railway Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan.

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, the TTE in question working in Ishwardi (West Zone, BR), 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 TTE Shafiqul Islam asked for their tickets. 

Instead of complying with the TTE's 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.

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