IRCTC terminates contract with vendor after company staff manhandle passenger on train
After a detailed investigation into the incident involving the mishandling of a passenger on Hemkunt Express by catering staff onboard the train, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has terminated its catering contract with Hotel Rajasthan with immediate effect, the state-owned PSU said on Thursday (May 8, 2025).
A penalty of ₹5 lakh was imposed on the company and an FIR lodged by the Government Railway Police (GRP), Kathua.
A passenger who was travelling in the 3AC coach of Train No. 14609 to Vaishno Devi was allegedly manhandled by the catering staff employed by the IRCTC-appointed vendor, a few hours after he filed an online complaint on RailMadad app about being overcharged for a bottle of water.
A video of the incident was posted by the passenger on his YouTube channel, and a clip also shared on X went viral on Thursday. In the video, several men — allegedly pantry staff dressed in green T-shirts — are seen walking towards the passenger, and asking him to come down from his upper berth.
The men demanded the passenger to descend, and when he refused, one of them climbed up and started pulling at his clothes. In a video, the passenger later said that he had sustained minor injuries due to the scuffle.
The termination letter sent by IRCTC to M/s Hotel Rajasthan stated: 'An incident regarding overcharging and sale of unapproved brand of portable drinking water (PDW) on [Train No.] 14609 was reported… and incident of manhandling by the licensee staff was reported... Your vendor has been identified as Mr. Pawan Kumar and photo retrieved from the complaint on X which establish that the vendor is of M/s Rajasthan.'
'The video uploaded by the complainant clearly establishes that the complainant was threatened and manhandled by licensee staff including Mr. Pawan Kumar. The licensee vendor, Mr. Pawan Kumar has acted in a criminal manner, which has tarnished the image of IRCTC and the Indian Railways,' it further stated.
IRCTC said that the matter was in breach of Clause 5.12, which states that the licensee will not carry on any unlawful/illegal activity in pantry car/at stations, and deemed it a fit case of termination of contract.
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