New Delhi, 12 June

A controversy erupted after a train with dilapidated and dirty coaches was provided to ferry Border Security Force (BSF) personnel from Tripura for deployment during the Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir, with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw suspending four officials and ordering an inquiry.

The minister asserted that the dignity of the security forces is paramount and such negligence will not be tolerated at any level, according to a statement from the Railway Ministry released on Wednesday.

The action came a day after the Northeast Frontier Railway Zone dismissed the allegations in a post on X, where social media users criticised the railways over the condition of the coaches while reacting to videos of the train that surfaced online.

About 1,200 BSF troops drawn from 13 companies were scheduled to board a special train on June 6 for Jammu Tawi from Udaipur in Tripura. The train had to make a few stops in between and collect troops from four locations in Tripura, Assam and West Bengal.

Officials said the train was made available to the BSF on June 9, and when they saw its "poor and unhygienic" condition, the jawans inspecting a coach recorded videos.

As the videos depicting the unacceptable state of the coaches went viral, the railways faced backlash from various quarters, leading senior railway authorities to take notice.

Taking to X, Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed said, "This is what happens when the government's entire focus is on PR for a few flashy trains, while the masses are forced to travel like animals.

"Shame on @narendramodi and @AshwiniVaishnaw for providing a filthy train - full of dirt, cockroaches, and broken seats - for our BSF soldiers heading for Amarnath Yatra duty."

Three senior section engineers and a coaching depot officer of Alipurduar Rail Division have been suspended by the Railway Minister, the press note from the Railway Ministry said.

“The Railway Minister said that the dignity of the security forces is paramount and such negligence will not be tolerated at any level. An enquiry has also been ordered so that such incidents shouldn’t take place in future,” it said.

The ministry said that a special train with all facilities has been arranged for smooth and comfortable movement of the security personnel.

The troops were part of the additional deployment of central forces being done by the Union government for the annual Amarnath Yatra scheduled to take place from 3 July in Jammu and Kashmir.

On 10 June, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Zone under which the Alipurduar Rail Division comes dismissed the allegations of providing rickety coaches while responding to a social media post that showed a video of the train.

“The allegation that BSF was provided such kind of coach for travel is incorrect. Coaches are provided for travel only after necessary maintenance, repairs and cleaning. This video is of an unexamined coach which was being sent for repair and was not meant for travel of BSF forces,” the NFR had posted.

The Amarnath Yatra will be conducted for 38 days and is scheduled to end on 9 August.

The Centre has ordered the deployment of a total of 581 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) comprising about 42,000 on-ground personnel for the conduct of the yatra.

Special security arrangements are being made as the pilgrimage, which has been targeted by terror outfits in the past, is taking place in the backdrop of the 22 April Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed.