A 45-year-old cancer patient passed away aboard the Gitanjali Express while travelling from Mumbai to Howrah on Saturday, October 24, prompting complaints from fellow passengers who claimed they were forced to travel alongside the body for roughly 12 hours. The victim, Binod Paswan of Bhatpara in West Bengal, was heading home after receiving treatment at Mumbai's Tata Memorial Hospital on a train that was already running about 12 hours behind schedule. His remains were finally removed from the M-2 coach at Tatanagar Junction in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, late Saturday night.
According to accounts shared by travellers, Paswan died inside the coach on Saturday morning. Passengers stated they alerted the travelling ticket examiner around 8 am, expecting a medical confirmation and prompt intervention. They alleged, however, that no significant action was taken for hours, leaving the body in place as the journey continued. Frustrated by the lack of response, passengers sought medical aid and demanded the removal of the remains.
With no local resolution in sight, a passenger escalated the matter on social media around 7 pm by tagging Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and utilizing the Rail Madad grievance system. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Kunal Sarangi also highlighted the episode online, criticizing the situation as disgraceful. The train ultimately arrived at Tatanagar station at approximately 8:30 pm, where the body was deboarded.
Railway authorities presented a contrasting timeline of the events. Aditya Chaudhary, the Senior Divisional Commercial Manager for the Chakradharpur railway division, stated that officials were only notified at 7:45 pm that an unresponsive passenger was inside the M-2 coach. Upon arrival at Tatanagar, an on-site physician examined the individual and pronounced him dead, with Chaudhary noting that an inquiry into the incident is underway.
The ordeal also highlighted broader grievances regarding the state of the heavily delayed train. Passengers complained of poor coach maintenance, severely unclean toilets, and acute shortages of food and drinking water throughout the extended trip, which posed hardships for children, women, and elderly travellers. Due to the lack of provisions, passengers reported having to purchase items from unauthorized vendors at inflated prices.