No Means to Return Home amid Lockdown, 500 People Return to Gwalior Hiding in Goods Train

Gwalior: Around 500 local residents from the Gwalior-Chambal region returned home on Thursday by hiding in a goods train.

But their act landed them in trouble after the goods train they clandestinely boarded at Uttar Pradesh's Mathura junction did not stop at Gwalior and moved on to Jhansi. After special pleas from the "hiding" passengers, the administration got them back in a special train.

After a national lockdown was announced, several migrant workers working outside the state started returning home. The 500 passengers had secretly boarded the goods train in Mathura on Wednesday night, taking advantage of the dark, said the Gwalior police.

After the train failed to stop at Morena or Gwalior, the panicked travellers contacted the police in Bhind and Morena districts.

Chambal Divisional Commissioner Renu Tiwari then contacted the DRM Jhansi after which directives were issued and the train halted at Jhansi. All the passengers were then screened at the railway station and sent to Gwalior in a special train, said government spokesperon DD Shakyawar.

After the train reached Jhansi, administrative officers, including health staff, were present and the travellers were subjected to a second health test. The administration arranged buses to let these locals reach their destinations.