No leads yet on vanishing parcels from Central station, DRM takes note

A fortnight after a consignment from Hydrabad was impounded for alleged overweight by the railway vigilance sleuths, the licenced parcel agent on Monday approached officials to pay the fine and set the records straight, but officials concerned were understood to have been pushed into inaction owing to the alleged illegalities in the case.

DT Next had reported on Sunday (June 9) that a consignment impounded by railway vigilance for overweight on May 28 was found to have been smuggled out of the inward parcel office in Chennai Central with the help of staff involved in the previous parcel scam unearthed in November 2018.

Railway sources privy to the scam revealed that the supervisors of the inward parcel office were summoned by their divisional bosses for explanation.

“When vigilance depart had seized the consignment it had weighed 6.5 tonnes. The parcel was declared as fish. The consignment claimed to be in custody is only weighing two tonnes. Vigilance sleuths have only visited and persuaded the supervisor to collect the penalty for the extra weight and no questions have been raised about the missing cartons,” a railway officer said. He also wondered why the vigilance watchdog was not questioning about the rest of the stock or the supervisor being unable to issue to RPF a memo without which no FIR could be registered.

As per railway rules, if an impounded consignment has perishable goods like fish, it should be released in 24 hours on collection of penalty or auctioned off. The money raised in the auction should be paid to the consignee. If neither of that happens, railway health department should dispose it off, preferably by incinerating the commodity as it could be a health hazard.

“If the consignment is a perishable commodity like they claim, how did they keep it in the inward parcel office for two weeks? Why has commercial supervisor not summoned railway health department till now?” the official said.

Meanwhile, the Divisional Railway Manager has responded to the report by this paper by tweeting, “Matter notified to concerned official,” on his official page on Monday.