Bhubaneswar: Two pantry car employees of an express train were arrested during a surprise inspection by the railway officers and Railway Protection Force (RPF) for unauthorized use of electric immersion heaters (immersion rods) to prepare tea.
Railway Protection Force (RPF) Post Cuttack conducted checks on two long-distance trains, leading to the arrest of two employees.
The operation targeted Train No. 12507 (Trivandrum–Silchar) Aronai SF Express between Cuttack (CTC) and Jajpur Keonjhar Road (JJKR) sections, and Train No. 12516 (Silchar–Coimbatore) Coimbatore SF Express between JJKR and CTC.
During inspections in the pantry cars, RPF teams discovered staff using high-power immersion rods connected to passenger charging sockets—meant only for mobiles and lights—to heat water in steel cans for extra tea demand in the morning.
This practice risks short circuits, electrical overloads, and potential major fires in running trains, endangering passenger lives.In the Aronai Express, Sahdullah (34), son of Mustafa Ansari from Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh, an Assistant Pantry Manager with M/s Roop Caterer, confessed to using an immersion rod in a 5-litre steel can without the manager’s knowledge. He admitted awareness of the prohibition.
Similarly, in the Coimbatore Express, Surajit Chakraborty (27), son of Shankar Chakraborty from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, a pantry staff with the same caterer, admitted the same violation using a Havells rod in an identical can.
Both items were seized. The accused were arrested under Section 179(2) of the Railways Act for offences under Sections 153 and 145(c), endangering safety and passenger health (as rod-boiled tea is unsafe). Cases registered as C3C-873/26 and C3C-874/26 dated March 12, 2026.They were produced before the SDJM, Cuttack, and released on bail. RPF emphasized that such unauthorized high-load appliances are strictly banned to prevent fire hazards and health risks.
