Press Trust of India

Bihar, Feb 13: In an embarrassment for Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, his parents-in-law were on Tuesday caught travelling without tickets on a train in Bihar.
Their journey, however, was legalised with tickets issued by a travelling ticket examiner (TTE) on board the Darbhanga-New Delhi Sampark Kranti Express.

A railway employee informed authorities in Chapra that Shiva Prasad Choudhary and his wife, the parents of Lalu Prasad's wife Rabri Devi, boarded an AC first class coach of the train without tickets at Hajipur to go to Siwan.

Railway officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the couple, in their late seventies, was accosted by a TTE at Chapra railway station. They claimed they boarded the train "hurriedly" and did not have tickets, the officials said.

A private TV channel, which was informed about the incident, filmed footage of the couple and the TTE.

The railway officials claimed they 'cannot be said to have been caught as they readily paid the AC first class fare between Hajipur and Siwan'.

Chapra is Lalu Prasad's parliamentary constituency.

Railway sources had earlier said the couple would be fined in accordance with rules and tickets issued to them to legalise their journey.

Lalu Prasad Yadav is one of India's most colourful politicians. He leads an influential regional party in Bihar that is allied with the Congress Party in India's national parliament.