300 travel sans tickets as ‘tipsy’ booking clerk sleeps on

With Rameswaram being a very popular tourist destination, a passenger train from Rameswaram to Madurai is operated on a daily basis at 5.30 am. Fisherfolk also travel on that train while going from Rameswaram to Pamban. 

Around 300 people queued up in front of the ticket counter, but it remained closed. The hassled passengers immediately approached officials, who in turn, informed them that tickets would shortly be issued. However, by then the train had arrived and all passengers hopped on to it without tickets. 

Police said that when Railway officials went in search of the booking clerk, Rohit Kumar Meena, he was found to be in a drowsy state. He was immediately sent to Rameswaram GH to confirm whether he was drunk. From there, he was taken to Ramanathapuram GH. 

Interestingly, officials denied Meena being drunk. A senior Railway official, said that because of staff shortage, Meena had been working for two continuous nights and hence had been sleeping on Wednesday morning. The official also claimed that Meena had high fever and hence was rushed to the hospital. When asked whether Meena had informed officials about the fever and why no alternative arrangements were made, the official did not respond. Doctors at Rameswaram GH said that Meena’s heartbeats were erratic when he was brought to the hospital and hence was referred to Ramanathapuram GH. They refused to respond about Meena’s tipsy condition.