Almost five months after an RPF functionary was forced to quit his job over a train delay, it has come to light that he was punished, allegedly by a vengeful senior, for something he wasn't responsible for.
Almost five months after an RPF functionary was forced to quit his job over a train delay, it has come to light that he was punished, allegedly by a vengeful senior, for something he wasn't responsible for.
A Right to Information (RTI) query has indicated that the Railway Protection Force's (RPF) head constable DC Pandey could not be held responsible for delaying the Konark Express by over two hours in January last year. 
RPF Constable DC Pandey
The delay was because of a lapse on the part of the railways.
The incident dates back to January 5, 2010. At least 72 officials of the RPF association had been promised an extra coach in the Konark Express but when they reached CST, the bogey had not been attached.
The Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Atul Rane, then promised to add the coach but the shunting delayed the train by 2 hours and 14 minutes.
On September 10 last year,u00a0 the then inspector general, RPF, BS Siddhu, upset with his staff, issued a compulsory retirement notice to Pandey.
A CR official told MiD DAY that Siddhu had an axe to grind with Pandey. "He was targeted by Siddhu because he refused to extort money from commuters at his behest.
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Also, he suspected that Pandey leaks news to the media."
In a sort of deliverance last week, Pandey received two RTI replies (copies with MiD DAY) that stated the Government Railway Police had maintained records, which reveal the delay to be an oversight on the part of the railways.
Pandey is banking on the documents tou00a0 regain his job. "I have seven kids. How will I sustain them?" he said.
The Other Side
Siddhu, currently posted in UP, was unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts to contact him.
The incumbent Inspector General, RPF Mumbai, Pravin Chandra Dhaka, said, "I am unaware of the incident. I will comment on the issue after checking the documents."
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