TTE suspended for assaulting passenger; 'zero tolerance,' says Railway Minister

New Delhi: A train ticket examiner (TTE) has been suspended after a video went viral on microblogging site X in which he is seen slapping and dragging a passenger.

According to railway officials, the incident occurred on Thursday when Barauni-Lucknow Express was travelling between Gonda and Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh.

"We came to know that a Deputy Chief Ticket Inspector (DCTI) named Prakash assaulted a passenger, possibly because he was having an irregular ticket. He was not authorized to travel in that particular class with the ticket that he had purchased," the Lucknow Division Public Relations Officer (PRO) told PTI.

"However, we have taken a very strong note of his act and suspended him immediately. We have constituted an inquiry and will take strictest action against him," the PRO added.

The Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Lucknow Division of North Eastern Railway, under whose jurisdiction the incident occurred, also tweeted on X, "The concerned TTE has been suspended by the competent authority and an inquiry has been initiated." "Zero tolerance for such misconduct, TTE has been suspended," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw posted on X.