Unprecedented action to protect the health of passengers was taken by the Ministry of Railways to control a catering provider for the meal they served on the Patna-Tatanagar Vande Bharat Express (Train # 21896). They soon faced massive fines online, and the vendor’s contract was canceled.
The Fight: Worms or Saffron?
The issue arose on March 15, 2026, when a passenger on the premium train, Ritesh Kumar Singh, was served a meal. When Singh encountered a cup of pre-packaged yogurt, he couldn't miss the live maggots and insects inside, so Singh confronted the onboard security personnel. In the footage that has attracted millions of viewers, the catering attendant is heard saying the live worms are 'saffron strands' all around him.
The casual cover-up of his behavior drew passengers' reactions, 'Are we paying money to eat poison?' It was found that the yogurt he served was well past its expiry date. Strict Penalties and Termination of Contract (After a social media boycott and complaint too, the Railway Board immediately launched an inquiry soon after).
"Live worms in food." 😡🔥
— Suraj Kumar Bauddh (@SurajKrBauddh) March 25, 2026
A passenger traveling on the Vande Bharat train from Patna to Tatanagar found worms in his food. He complained to the Railways.
Indian Railways imposed a ₹50 lakh penalty on the company and ₹10 lakh on IRCTC, and canceled the contract. Big applause. pic.twitter.com/jYq0mqOb6J
On March 25, 2026, it announced a zero-tolerance move: ₹50 lakh penalty: The Ministry was against the private service provider Krishna Enterprises, which is charged with bad behavior and no safety compliance: ₹10 lakh penalty on IRCTC for oversight and handling of the supplier and vendor.
Contract Cancellation
The Indian Railways has officially scrapped the contract with the vendor’s catering and has taken the lowest level of charge of the customer’s price as of now ₹60 lakh, in large part for a complaint that only a single Caterer filed. In response, the Ministry of Railways issued the following words: “Passenger safety and food quality are the cornerstones of our mission.
Any breach is taken right away and stern penalties imposed for any violations will be forthcoming.” IRCTC introduced 24/7 QR-coded online data trackers for meals and surprise quality checks for all meals. On the positive side, many people praised this move as a big win for passenger rights, but on the other hand, Railways is still not doing enough yet to transition to third-party vendors for the higher quality trains like Vande Bharat despite having high sales figures for these trains but is in fact not working against such a good track record.
