In a bid to discipline latecomers, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav today carried out a surprise check at Rail Bhavan in New Delhi and sent back over 500 employees reporting late.

"Soon after I came to Rail Bhavan at 9.30 am, I ordered that all the gates be closed and all those who came late were stopped right there. We found that 453 non-gazetted and 66 gazetted employees were late, and were sent back to their homes," Yadav told PTI.

There are 1619 non-gazetted and 700 gazetted employees working at Rail Bhavan, and going by today's checklist at least 40 per cent of them report late for work. Asserting that 'indiscipline' will not be tolerated, Yadav said strict action would be taken against those reporting late.

"I will not tolerate this. They have been marked as absent, and one day's salary will be cut. I will conduct such checks in the future too and if they are found to be habitual latecomers, action will be initiated against them," he said.

Pointing out that central government employees enjoyed better facilities as compared to others, Yadav said the 9 am to 5.30 pm schedule must be honoured.