Ranchi, Nov. 12: More than 30 passengers travelling on board the New Delhi-Ranchi Garib Rath fell ill after eating food provided by the railway catering service during the journey.

The passengers, who reached Ranchi this morning, said despite the fact that many needed medical attention, no doctor was provided by the railway authorities who also refused to accept a formal complaint from the passengers initially.

“Several passengers complained of nausea and stomach ache after eating the food provided by the railways. One child in our coach was vomiting badly,” said Rajesh Kumar, who works in Delhi and was in Ranchi to meet his relatives.

The offending food was served at around 10pm after the train left Delhi. The train does not have a pantry car, but Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) provides food on order. The food is taken from base kitchens run by associate organisations of IRCTC at various stations.

Most of the victims disembarked at Barkakana, around 60km away from Ranchi. “We are alright now and can go home. But some passengers who got down at Barkakana were really ill,” said Punit Ranjan, another passenger.

Senior officials of Ranchi railway division reached the station soon after the train arrived. Someone had called up divisional railway manager V.K. Agarwal and apprised him of the incident.

“We have seized the food packets. We are sending them for tests,” said Prabhat Ranjan, senior divisional transport manager. “We will ask IRCTC to institute a probe and find out what happened,” he added.

The railway authorities offered the victims free treatment, which they declined.