Dead cockroach found in Vande Bharat Express meal: IRCTC apologizes and fines service provider

MUMBAI: A family travelling on the Vande Bharat Express recently found a dead cockroach in their food, sparking outrage on social media. The incident occurred on August 19, during their journey from Shirda to Mumbai. Upon finding the cockroach in their dal curry, the passengers immediately reported the issue to railway officials.

The incident gained traction online after an X user, 'Ricky Jeswani,' shared that he found the dead cockroach in his meal. Another user, 'Divyesh Wankhedkar,' posted pictures and a video of the contaminated curry, along with a screenshot of Jeswani's complaint to the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The posts quickly went viral.

In response, IRCTC issued an apology: "Sir, I am deeply sorry for the inconvenience caused to you. We take the matter very seriously. The service provider has been fined, and officials have been deputed to inspect the kitchen unit of the service provider," the IRCTC stated.

This is not the first time such an incident has occurred on the Vande Bharat Express. Two months ago, a similar case was reported when a dead cockroach was found in the food served to a couple traveling from Bhopal to Agra. Earlier this year, a passenger on the Vande Bharat Express from Delhi to Varanasi also complained of receiving stale food. These incidents have raised concerns about the quality and safety of food served on the prestigious train service.