Around 3,000 migrant workers gathered at Bandra Terminus in the hope of catching a Shramik Special train that was scheduled to depart for Purnea in Bihar. The train left around noon but with only around 1,700 workers and their families, whose names had been provided by the State.
According to Railway officials, the crowd began gathering outside the station around 11.30 a.m. Police personnel present at the spot told them that only those whose names figured on the the list could board the train.
“The bona fide passengers were checked and allowed to enter the station and the train left Bandra Terminus around noon with 1,700 labourers and their families, who were entitled to travel. Later, the crowd was cleared from the area,” Ravinder Bhakar, Chief Public Relations Officer, WR, said.
‘No law and order issue’
A police officer present at the spot said there was no law and order situation and that there seemed to have been a misunderstanding among the workers, because of which so many of them came to the station.
“The workers seem to have been misinformed that they could get a place in the train if there was space. They said they had heard this was the practice for trains leaving from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. However, once we clarified that this was not the case, they left the scene within 30 minutes,” the officer said, adding that there was no untoward incident or law and order situation.
Published - May 20, 2020 01:45 am IST
