Sick leave denied even after loco pilot undresses to show piles surgery wound: Union; action sought

New Delhi, Mar 3 (PTI) Frustrated after being denied sick leave for rest after piles surgery, a loco pilot undressed himself before a senior officer in the Lucknow Rail Division to show unhealed wounds on his private parts, a loco staff union claimed on Tuesday.

A video of the incident, recorded by the loco pilot's colleagues, was widely circulated on various WhatsApp groups of the railway employees, who expressed outrage over what they described as inhuman treatment.

Leaders of the All India Loco Running Staff Association (AILRSA) claimed that the desperate act by loco pilot Rajesh Meena -- who belongs to the Scheduled Tribe community -- failed to persuade the Chief Crew Controller (CCC) Ratan Kumar. He, according to the union, refused to grant Meena leave for rest. The loco pilot then approached a union leader of his community, who spoke to senior officers in the division, following which, he was granted leave for rest, the leaders said.

When contacted, no immediate response was received from Sunil Kumar Verma, Divisional Railway Manager, Lucknow Division under the Northern Railway Zone, about the issue.

In the purported video of the incident, Meena and his colleagues can be seen confronting Ratan Kumar for denying medical leave.

"It is so shameful that a loco pilot has to take off his pants before his senior to convince him for medical leave, and then he gets a refusal in return," K C James, secretary general, AILRSA, said.

He added, "We work day and night to take people to their destinations so that they can celebrate festivals with their relatives and family members. Is this the kind of treatment we should expect from the Railway administration?" Meena's colleagues have also recorded a video in which he has narrated his plight and discernible stress.

He explains in the video that he was suffering from piles for a long time and after getting treatment in Indore without success, he eventually underwent surgery on February 22 in Lucknow.

"After a lot of persuasion, Meena was granted leave for surgery from Feb 22 to Feb 28, but when his wound didn’t heal within a week, he followed the laid down procedure and first approached the Railway Health Unit for extension of leave," Adarsh Kumar Gupta, assistant secretary general, AILRSA, Northern Zone, said, elaborating on Meena's case.

Gupta said that he spoke to Meena and was shocked to find out about his situation "The doctor from the unit checked him thoroughly and, after being convinced that he had a genuine reason to be granted leaves, asked him to bring a 'sick memo' from his seniors. Meena approached the crew controller and then the CCC for the said memo," Gupta added.

AILRSA leaders said that Meena showed various medical documents, including lab reports (CBC, glucose and hepatitis screening) and prescriptions, as well as the bandages and dressings he used at home to prove his condition to the CCC, but the officer was apparently not convinced. Meena has also narrated this sequence of events in a recorded video.

"He had no option but to take off his pants and show his wound," Gupta said, adding that the union has demanded strict action against CCC Ratan Kumar. PTI JP PRK