KARACHI: Pakistan Railways Police have arrested a train driver, an assistant driver and two transgender persons for allowing them to travel inside the engine of the Shalimar Express, following an investigation into a viral video of the incident.
According to Pakistan Railways, a case has been registered against the four individuals for violating railway regulations and allegedly endangering passengers’ lives.
The arrested railway employees were identified as train driver Imtiaz and assistant driver Saqlain Haider, while the two transgender persons were identified as Ali Ahmed, also known as Hania, and Muhammad Ali, also known as Ali Jan.
According to the FIR, the incident took place during the night between November 4 and 5 aboard the Shalimar Express travelling from Sahiwal to Lahore.
The two transgender persons allegedly travelled inside locomotive No. 9016 from Sahiwal to Raiwind. According to the FIR, Hania remained seated in the assistant driver’s seat, while Ali Jan recorded a video of the journey.
The video was subsequently uploaded to social media and went viral, prompting an investigation by Pakistan Railways.
Railway Police sources said the case was registered after the completion of an investigation into the incident. The charges include violations of railway policies, endangering passengers’ lives and bringing the department into disrepute.
Earlier, on November 10, Pakistan Railways had described the viral video as fake and part of an attempt to gain social media views.
However, the subsequent investigation established that the two transgender persons had travelled inside the locomotive, contradicting the railway spokesperson’s earlier claim.
The four suspects have been arrested as part of the action taken following the investigation.
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