RPF arrests 387 touts

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) arrested 387 touts in the country-wide raids conducted on June 13, who were selling tickets by misusing railway e-ticketing platform and tatkal seva.

Keeping in view of the demand for railway tickets due to holidays and the anti-social elements exploiting the situation to sell tickets at high prices, the RPF conducted the raids under “Operation Thunder” in 276 places in 141 cities all over the country.

“During raid, 22,234 tickets valued at Rs 32.99 lakh, on which the journey was supposed to be undertaken, have been seized," RPF Director General Arun Kumar told reporters here.

In a preliminary enquiry, it has been found that these touts have done such illegal sale of tickets valued at Rs 3.24 crore.

Modus operandi of the touts was to use different identity cards and user ids for booking bulk tickets through e-ticketing. In some cases, booking tatkal seva tickets in benami names and selling it at high prices, he said.

Fifty-one touts were held from Kolkata in West Bengal, the highest number of arrest, which falls under the East Central Railway. This was followed by Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh over South East Central Railway with 41 such cases, he said.

Kumar said an illegal software, 'ANMS/Red Mirchi', has been seized from Kota, Rajasthan, which was being used to hack into the tatkal facility offered by the IRCTC which is now being rectified.

"387 user ids under which these tickets have been booked frequently have been blacklisted and the tickets have been deactivated. We have also instructed all zonal railways to continue such raids in their areas to mount pressure on these touts. I appeal to the general public not to book tickets illegally through touts," he said.