By V. Srinivasan
Salem: 300 Northern State workers occupying the reservation compartments of the Thiruvananthapuram-Gorapur Express train were dropped by the Tiktek inspectors and police at the Salem Junction railway station.
After the festival of Holi is going to be held on the 8th of the northern states, many northern workers in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala have returned to their hometowns to celebrate the festival. In North State bound trains people are traveling by taking tickets without reservation and many people are traveling in reserved coaches without taking tickets.
On the Thiruvananthapuram-Korakur train which reached Salem at 6.15 pm yesterday, the North State workers were occupying the reservation compartments. When the train had taken off, the passengers who had taken reservation tickets boarded the S-4 compartment and saw the North State workers occupying the seats, so the passengers pulled the hazard chain and stopped the train. Chief Ticket Inspector Rajasekhar, RPF Police and Railway Police who arrived at the concerned S-4 box conducted an investigation.
At that time, the passengers accused the North State workers of occupying the compartment without taking proper reservation tickets. Immediately a team of ticket examiners checked the tickets in all the reserved coaches. It was found that 300 North State workers took tickets without reservation and many did not.
Officials unloaded Northern State workers from train coaches at Salem Junction railway station. Later, the train departed at 6.45 pm. The North State workers who were brought down by the police and the railway officials made way for the Jolarpet train and Chennai train to go to the city.