A pilot, frustrated after being denied sick leave to rest after hemorrhoid surgery, stripped off his clothes in front of a senior railway department officer in Lucknow to show the unhealed wounds on his genitals, a local employees union alleged on Tuesday.
A video of the incident, recorded by the pilot’s colleagues, was widely circulated across various WhatsApp groups for railway employees, who expressed their anger at what they described as inhumane treatment.
The desperate act of local pilot Rajesh Meena – who belongs to the Scheduled Tribe community – failed to impress Chief Crew Controller (CCC) Ratan Kumar, All India Crew Controller Association (AILRSA) leaders claimed. According to the union, he refused to grant Mina leave to rest. The local pilot then approached a union leader in his community, who spoke to senior officers in the department, and then was given leave to rest, commanders said.
When contacted, no immediate response was received from Sunil Kumar Verma, Divisional Railway Manager, Lucknow Division under Northern Railway Zone, on the issue.
In the alleged video of the incident, Meena and his colleagues can be seen confronting Ratan Kumar for refusing medical leave.
KC James, Secretary General of AILRSA, said: “It is absolutely shameful that a flying pilot has to take his pants off in front of his chief officer to convince him to take medical leave, and then gets rejected in return.”
He added, “We work day and night to transport people to their destinations so that they can celebrate holidays with their relatives and family members. Is this the kind of treatment we should expect from the railway administration?”
Mina’s colleagues also recorded a video in which he narrated his ordeal and apparent pressure.
He explains in the video that he had been suffering from hemorrhoids for a long time and after receiving treatment in Indore to no avail, he finally underwent surgery on February 22 in Lucknow.
“After much persuasion, Meena was granted leave for surgery from February 22 to 28, but when his wound did not heal within a week, he followed the prescribed procedure and first approached the Railway Health Unit to extend the leave,” Adarsh Kumar Gupta, Assistant General Secretary of AILRSA, North Zone, said detailing Meena’s case.
Gupta said he spoke to Meena and was shocked to learn about his situation
“The unit doctor examined him thoroughly and, after being convinced that he had a genuine reason for giving him leave, asked him to bring a ‘sick note’ from his senior officials. Meena contacted the crew controller and then CCC to obtain the said note,” Gupta added.
AILRSA leaders said Meena showed various medical documents, including laboratory reports (CBC, glucose test and hepatitis) and prescriptions, as well as bandages and dressings he used at home to prove his condition to the CCC, but the officer was apparently not convinced. Meena has also narrated this sequence of events in a recorded video.
“He had no choice but to remove his pants and show his injury,” Gupta said, adding that the union has demanded strict action against Ratan Kumar.
