This Punjabi farmer has achieved something even industrial giants like Adani and Ambani have—his own fleet. Sampuran Singh, once a man fighting for compensation in court, has now become the owner of an entire train, a feat that continues to amaze the business world. Samburan is from the village of Katana.
The Story
The story dates back to 2007, when the Indian Railways acquired land to construct the Ludhiana-Chandigarh railway line. Among the affected landowners was Punjabi farmer Sampuran Singh, whose land was included in the proposed project. The railways compensated him ₹25 lakh per acre, but when he later discovered that nearby landowners had received ₹71 lakh per acre, he felt cheated and outraged. Feeling shortchanged, he filed a petition in 2012, seeking fair compensation. Determined to fight this injustice, he took the matter to court, challenging the unfair compensation and exposing what he saw as an unethical discrepancy in land acquisition rates.
Legal Fight
Singh initially received only Rs 42 lakh for his land, while he claimed he should have been paid Rs 1.05 crore. He filed a case in 2012 over the years, the court ruled in Singh’s favour, increasing his compensation first to Rs 50 lakh per acre and later to Rs 1.7 crore. By 2015, the Northern Railway was directed to settle the full compensation amount. However, by that time, Sampuran Singh had received only ₹42 lakh, with a huge balance of ₹1.05 crore still unpaid, leaving him waiting for the justice he fought for.
Sampuran Claims Ownership Of The Train
After years of unpaid dues, Sampuran Singh’s fight for justice took an unexpected turn in 2017. District and Sessions Judge Jaspal Verma issued a landmark order—directing the attachment of Ludhiana railway station and the Swarna Shatabdi Express as compensation for his unpaid amount.
Following the order, Singh, along with his lawyer, arrived at the station and symbolically took possession of the train, making him its temporary owner—a moment that stunned everyone around.
Do Sampuran Still Remain A Train Owner?
Although Sampuran Singh briefly “owned” the Swarna Shatabdi Express, his claim was short-lived. Within minutes, a section engineer, with the help of a court official, released the train, preventing any disruption.
Despite this dramatic turn of events, the compensation dispute remains unresolved, with legal proceedings still dragging on. Singh’s extraordinary battle for justice has sparked widespread discussion and amusement, highlighting the bureaucratic hurdles and delays in the railway’s compensation system.
