2019 video of a TTE snatching money from a passenger is shared now in the context of the Maha Kumbh 2025.
The Maha Kumbh Mela is set to conclude in February 2025, and devotees continue to arrive in Prayagraj (here and here). Amid this, a video (here, here and here) has gone viral on social media, showing a Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) allegedly snatching money from an elderly train passenger. The claim suggests that the passenger was a devotee travelling to the Maha Kumbh Mela and was forced to pay unfairly. Let’s investigate the truth behind this claim.
Claim: The viral video showing a TTE snatching money from a Kumbh Mela devotee.
Fact: The video is actually from 2019, showing TTE Vinay Singh, posted in the East Central Railway Mughalsarai division of Chandauli district, Uttar Pradesh, misbehaving with a passenger. The incident took place three months before the video resurfaced. After it went viral, the TTE was suspended, and an investigation was initiated. This video has no connection to the Kumbh Mela. Hence, the claim is Misleading.
To verify the claim, we conducted a reverse image search on Google, which led us to multiple instances of the same video (here, here and here) dating back to 23 July 2019. Several users had uploaded the video on X at that time, tagging Indian Railways and highlighting instances of alleged snatching occurring on trains.
The post by Brijesh Mishra on X caught the attention of the official Railway Seva handle, which requested details about the incident. On the same day, 23 July 2019, the DRM of Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Division responded, stating that an explanation had been sought from the concerned employee. The incident had occurred 3-4 months earlier, and the employee claimed he was collecting money for issuing a ticket, which he had indeed provided. However, for further investigation, the employee was suspended.
Further research led us to several reports (here and here), including one from Amar Ujala on 25 July 2019, which stated that TTE Vinay Singh, posted in the East Central Railway Mughalsarai division of Chandauli district, Uttar Pradesh was suspended after a video of him forcibly taking money from an elderly passenger went viral on social media. The incident had reportedly occurred three months earlier, but the resurfaced video caused a stir among railway employees. Following public outrage, Divisional Railway Manager Pankaj Saxena suspended the accused TTE and launched an investigation. Further action was to be determined based on the inquiry’s findings.
Additionally, we could not find any credible video or report indicating that a TTE misbehaved with any Kumbh Mela devotees. Further, the viral video has no connection to the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela, as it dates back to 2019.
To sum up, a 2019 video of a TTE snatching money from a passenger is falsely shared as being related to the 2025 Kumbh Mela.