A viral video showed a priest performing rituals inside a moving train coach
NEW DELHI: Days after a video of a train coach decorated as a “honeymoon suite” triggered outrage and led to a ticket examiner’s suspension, another clip from Indian Railways has gone viral — this time showing a priest performing religious rituals inside a moving train coach.The video, widely shared on social media platform X, shows a priest seated on the floor of the coach conducting an abhishek while several devotees, most dressed in white, participate in the ceremony. As the clip spread online, several users questioned whether religious ceremonies were permitted inside train coaches, with some commenting that the visuals reflected poorly on the country.
Responding to the speculation, Northern Railway clarified that the ceremony was not held inside a regular passenger coach but inside a privately booked saloon car — a luxury coach typically reserved for senior railway officials and VIP travel, equipped with air-conditioned bedrooms, a kitchenette, a living and dining area, and attached bathrooms.In a post on X, the railway zone said the saloon car had been commercially booked through IRCTC on July 8, with the party paying an advance of Rs 3,08,580. The coach was scheduled to be attached to Train No. 12926 Paschim Express for a one-way journey from New Delhi to Mumbai on July 10, and Northern Railway had issued the notification for its commercial run subject to operational feasibility.“The primary roles and responsibilities of ensuring punctuality, safety, security, convenience of the passengers lies with Railways without any compromise. In this incident, none got injured. Priest seen performing abhishek is being performed in saloon car booked by party,” Northern Railway said in its statement.The clarification put to rest concerns that the ritual had disrupted regular train operations or inconvenienced other passengers, since the ceremony took place entirely within a coach reserved exclusively for the private party.
