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| Dance in Tezgam: Did a dance party take place on a moving train? |
A video of a dining car of a Pakistan Railways train has recently gone viral on social media in which a transgender man can be seen dancing inside the car. There are also some people in the dining car who are enjoying it.
Pakistan Railways was criticized on local media and social media for this video. According to some users, it was an 'obscene' or 'immoral' dance that was allegedly performed on a moving train while 'women, children and families were also present in the train.'
After the debate on the media, Federal Minister of Pakistan Railways Khawaja Saad Rafiq took notice of the viral video and conducted an investigation. After the initial investigation, the statement issued by the spokesperson of Pakistan Railways stated that this incident took place between the night of 13 and 14 August.
According to the spokesman of Pakistan Railways, the dining car of the train in which this dance party was held is run by a private company and "no employee of Pakistan Railways is involved in this".
According to the spokesperson, a show cause notice has been issued to the said private company on the orders of the Federal Minister, in which they have been asked to inform about the details. "If they fail to respond within seven days, their license will be revoked."
The spokesperson also said that the dance party took place in a dining car in which no passengers were present. All the staff in this car are recruited by the private operator company.
However, an inquiry has been started on the instructions of the Chief Operating Officer of Pakistan Railways. According to the officials, two employees of the private company have been suspended while two have been arrested and handed over to the railway police.
A case of this incident has also been registered in the concerned local police station. The show cause notice issued to the private company also asked them to explain why they should not be prosecuted under Section 294 of the Penal Code.
Was the dance taking place inside a moving train?
In videos that have gone viral on social media, dancing transgenders can be seen dancing between two rows of tables inside a dining car.
Some of the people watching the dance are wearing the same uniform while some people are leaning against the wall of the train with their feet on the seats and watching them dance. A loud song is also being played in the background.
The hand movement of the person who apparently recorded the video on a mobile phone gives the impression that the train is moving. However, a Pakistan Railways official told the The Time News Today on condition of anonymity that the train had stopped.
'It is not possible in a moving train. This dance party was held either before the train started its journey or after reaching the destination when the train had come to a complete stop.' He also ruled out the possibility that it could have happened during a halt at a station during the journey.
According to officials, the incident took place on the express train that runs between Karachi and Rawalpindi. The official said that the Railways' inquiry will determine when the incident took place.
According to a Pakistan Railways official, there were apparently no ordinary passengers in the dining car at the time of the dance. He said that the incident did not take place in a moving train, so it is not possible that there were passengers inside the dining car of the train.
According to the official, the final determination of who organized the dance party for whom and at whose request and who were the people watching the dance in the dining car at that time will be determined only after the investigation.
However, according to the preliminary investigation, it appears that "company staff members were present in this party," he said, adding that no Pakistan Railways staff member was present.
Can this happen without the will of Pakistan Railways?
A few users who criticized these dance videos on social media also raised the question that how could such an incident be possible on a Pakistan Railways train without the consent of the railway authorities.
However, speaking to the BBC, a railway official said that some trains of the railways are operated or run by Pakistan Railways itself, while some trains are completely operated by private companies under contract with the railways. This train is also complete. It is operated by a private company for which all the staff are also recruited by them. Pakistan Railways has only one guard on it. Apart from this, none of its employees of Railways has anything to do with its operation.
What is the position of a private company?
In a video statement, General Manager of NCS Private Limited, Colonel (Rtd) Wadi said that the incident took place on the night of August 13 and 14 in the dining car of 8 Down (Rawalpindi to Karachi). NCS administration strongly condemns this sad incident.
He did not give any details about what his company's investigation revealed and who was involved in organizing the dance party.
However, according to Colonel (R) Wadi, his company 'in this incidentIt will fully cooperate in bringing the people involved to justice. He said that the company has handed over its train manager and dining car manager to the railway police.
"We are trying our best to hand over all the other people who are involved in this to the police as soon as possible."
Colonel (R) Wadi said, "It was such a sad and immoral incident that we kept warning and reminding him again and again, but it happened." It is not clear to whom this warning was given. Apparently he was pointing towards the train crew.
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