Haridwar: One hundred and sixty seven passengers of a special train bringing migrants to Haridwar from Gujarat’s Surat have gone missing. It has caused huge concern among officials here.
The number of passengers who de-boarded the train here did not match with the list of passengers received from Surat. This information was given Thursday by Haridwar District Magistrate C Ravishankar.
“The discrepancy is being looked into. If these passengers have gone missing after boarding the train in Surat then it is a serious matter. Investigation is underway and action will be taken when it is complete,” Ravishankar said.
As per the list received from the Surat administration, 1,340 people were travelling by the special train. It left Surat May 12 but when it reached Haridwar station, only 1,173 passengers got down from the train.
The matter is being probed in consultation with authorities in Surat. We are trying to find out whether the missing 167 passengers did not board the train. Or whether they got down after boarding it, the Haridwar DM said.
Special trains have been running since May 11 from different parts of the country to bring back stranded migrants to Uttarakhand. The trains called ‘Shramik Special’ are ferrying migrant workers from different parts of the country to their native states.
The Railways have also started special ‘Rajdhani’ services for people stranded in New Delhi and other parts of the country. In the initial stage 15 such trains will travel to and fro from New Delhi.
PTI