Vendor at Jabalpur station takes passenger's watch as payment for 'samosas'; held

Jabalpur | A video on social media showed a vendor at Jabalpur railway station allegedly taking a passenger's wristwatch as payment for 'samosas' after an online transaction glitch, prompting authorities to detain him, officials said on Sunday.

The incident occurred on Friday evening. The railway authorities took the vendor into custody on Saturday, and after an outrage over the incident, they also initiated action to cancel his license.

A video that has gone viral on social media platforms purportedly shows a man trying to make an online (UPI) payment for buying samosas, but it fails as the train starts moving.

When he tries to leave to board the moving train without taking the snacks, the vendor grabs his collar. The passenger then removes his wristwatch and hands it over, upon which the vendor gives him a couple of samosas.

According to railway officials here, the incident occurred at platform no. 5 of the Jabalpur station in Madhya Pradesh at around 6.30 pm on Friday.

Responding to a post about the video on 'X', the Jabalpur Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) said, "The vendor has been identified and taken into custody by the RPF (Railway Protection Force). Action is also being taken to cancel the licence of the contractor."

The railway authorities, in a statement, said the vendor admitted during questioning that he misbehaved with the passenger when the online payment failed, but later returned the watch.

"The vendor has confessed to creating a nuisance with the passenger, for which the RPF, Jabalpur, has registered a case against him under the Railways Act," the statement added.