AHMEDABAD: A family from Valsad was served a revolting dish of ‘rat biryani’ from the pantry of the Sarvodaya Express while returning home from a pilgrimage to the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu & Kashmir.

Teacher Nilesh Patel and his wife Veena had ordered three vegetarian biryanis — one to be shared between their two sons. When their seven-year-old son Monik dug a spoon in the dish, something heavy obstructed him. When Patel tried to help him out, it was found that a rat had been cooked in the biryani.

Half of the about 300 pilgrims from Ahmedabad on the train had ordered the biryani dish. “The experience was horrifying,” Patel said. “We have pledged never to have food from the railway pantry again.”

Angry passengers later confronted the train staff. A waiter tried to throw out the remaining biryani at the New Delhi railway station , but some passengers recorded his actions using their cellphone cameras. When the protests got angrier, the railway police intervened to contain the situation.

Patel was then able to make a formal complaint. “The pantry manager gave us a written apology and agreed to take responsibility if any passenger suffers from food poisoning,” he said.