NHRC seeks details of halal, jhatka food served on trains

NEW DELHI: Dissatisfied with the response of IRCTC, Indian Railways' catering and ticketing agency, to its earlier notice on a complaint alleging that "only halal-processed meat" is served in non-vegetarian meals on trains, which would be "unfair discrimination" and amount to "violations of human rights", the panel has sought a fresh action taken report (ATR) with a list of all food contractors and vendors engaged by it for serving food. Details of whether the non-vegetarian food served by contractors and vendors is halal or jhatka, or both, have also been sought. The ATR is to be submitted within four weeks. The first notice in Nov stated the allegations were prima facie violations of human rights, as selling only Halal meat "badly affects" livelihood of Hindu SC and non-Muslim communities.