Teen basketball player from Chennai didn’t die after eating food on train, says Railways

CHENNAI: Facing allegations that a 15-year-old basketball player died due to food poisoning she suffered while travelling on Grand Trunk Road, the Southern Railway denied the charges and said the passenger did not order food through its onboard services or the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).

Explaining the sequence of the journey, the zonal railway said the deceased passenger, Elina Laurette R, travelled by train no 12616 Grand Trunk Express from Gwalior to Chennai Egmore on November 15 and reached Chennai Egmore at 6.10 am on November 17.

The group of 12 passengers, including Elina, travelled on B-1. Claiming that no complaints were registered regarding onboard catering services or the quality of the food served on Grand Trunk Express on that date, the statement said, “Several news reports said that the deceased passenger had ordered chicken rice and burger through an online platform and the food was shared by her friends also. The said food items are not part of the menu and not served through IRCTC.” 

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It added that IRCTC also checked the possibility of those passengers ordering through its e-catering. But when it checked the two PNRs of the group, it found no e-catering orders were placed from them through IRCTC e-catering platform.

“There were no complaints registered or recorded in this train as per the Rail Madad platform on the quality of food. A complaint [was] received through 139 for medical assistance and a doctor attended at Balharshah Railway station. Doctor advised to detrain and admit into the hospital. However, passengers chose to travel further towards the destination,” added the statement.