KOLKATA: An Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation ( IRCTC ) staffer is fighting for his life at a private hospital in the city after being assaulted by two passengers of the Sealdah Rajdhani Express near Gaya on Monday evening.

The two passengers, from Park Circus in Kolkata, were arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP) and charged with attempt to murder under IPC section 307.

According to a complaint filed by the train manager, Sushanta Behera — a workman-3 grade employee — was on duty on the B-9 AC III-tier coach. After dinner was served on Monday, Behera went to the pantry car to fetch a carton of ice-cream to be served as dessert.

On his way back, when Behera was walking through the B-13 coach, there was a jerk and the carton brushed against one of the accused, Md Zaid (28). Irked, Zaid thrashed him till he lost consciousness. Other passengers alerted on-board security staff. When they reached the spot of the incident, Zaid and his uncle, M Quraishi (58), tried to pass off the incident as a minor one, the train manager alleged.

Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel detained Zaid and Quraishi and handed them over to the GRP. Behera was rushed to the railway hospital in Gaya in an unconscious state. Doctors detected brain injury and recommended that he be sent to Kolkata for treatment. Behera was brought to Howrah on Tuesday.

IRCTC group general manager (east) Debashis Chandra said, “We rushed him to Apollo Gleneagles Hospital. His condition has deteriorated. At Apollo, doctors said his left side is paralyzed and he has suffered injuries to his brain and spine.”

“There were 70 other passengers in the coach. I wonder why they didn’t intervene when the suspects thrashed Behera, instead of waiting for him to collapse and then inform the security staffers,” Chandra said.

