A regular check for tickets inside a long distance train led to reunion of a 13-year-old boy who ran away from home. On March 18, a while Mahanagri Express was coming to Mumbai from Varanasi, the ticket checkers and coaching staff found this young boy travelling in S3 coach. Sources said that he was found between Nashik and Igatpuri stations.
According to sources, the coaching staff found this boy named Shubham Mehra (13) sitting in one of the seats. “When we enquired with the boy, he said that he belonged to Itarsi and that he had ran away from his house after an argument with his parents,” said an official from Central Railway (CR). This incident took place in the morning at Kalyan station.
The boy apparently had argument with his family and ran away from his home. Soon after, the staff contacted the commercial controller and then the boy was made to get down at Kalyan station. Here, the ticket checking staff narrated to the authorities at Kalyan station who then contacted a politician from Itarsi.
This was because the boy only remembered the landmark of Shani Mandir near his home. And the local politicians also checked with Corporators there as it was getting difficult to source the precise information about the boy. When enquiries were being made, a police complaint by the parents was not registered as they hailed from poor family and were searching for the boy on their own.
“We were told that the local politician there contacted the parents of the boy, who had been searching for him,” said another official from railway police. Later the boy was handed over to a NGO and contacted the parents as well who are coming to Mumbai.
Sources said that with Covid-19 cases rising; checks have gone up inside train and at railway stations. The ticketing inspection staffs in this case as well were checking the number of passengers travelling in the train. This is because as per the recent protocols, railway staffs inside trains too have been asked to see if there are any passengers complaining of fever and other health issues.
As per the current Covid-19 guidelines issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on March 20, checks at railway stations, MSRTC bus depots will go up substantially. The BMC authorities will carry out Rapid Antigen Tests on random patients alighting at stations like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai Central, Dadar, Bandra Terminus, Andheri, Borivali and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Kurla.
Moreover passengers coming from trains arriving from Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Goa, Kerala and Vidarbha region will be tested for Rapid Antigen. In Mumbai 9000 passengers arriving at 9 different stations will undergo these Antigen tests.
