Salem: A passenger bitten by a rat while travelling in a train in August 2014 has now been awarded a compensation of Rs 32,000 by a consumer forum, which also directed the railways to pay up within three months, failing which it would have to pay interest at nine per cent for the delayed period to the victim.
District Consumer Forum president R.V. Dheenadayalan and member S. Rajalakshmi on Wednesday awarded compensation of Rs 25,000 to passenger Venkatachalam for the mental agony suffered by him due to the rat-bite. They directed the railways to pay an additional Rs 2,000 for medical expenses incurred by him and Rs 5,000 toward cost of the litigation. In all, the compensation worked out to Rs 32,000 for the victim of the 2014 rat-bite.
Venkatachalam had submitted he was bitten by a rat in the train he had taken to Chennai on August 8, 2014. The travelling ticket examiner behaved in an indifferent manner when he showed him the bleeding injury from the rat-bite and did not even arrange for first-aid, said the victim.
He said the TTE had told him that he could be given treatment only at the next station. Finally, he got down at his destination at Egmore station in Chennai and lodged a complaint before taking treatment for the rat-bite at a private hospital.
He had to get admitted in a government hospital later for further treatment, he told the forum in his petition, while seeking compensation from the railways for the mental agony suffered due to the rite-bite in the train.
