Tired of endless wait, student exposes parcel racket at railway station

When Kedar Zambare had set out for Pune railway station yesterday to send a friend's two-wheeler by parcel service to another city, he had little idea he would have to play the protagonist in an all-out brouhaha as package deal. Thanks to the 23-year-old student, a thriving parcel racket at the station premises was exposed. "After waiting in queue for more than an hour, I saw some agents walking into the office and getting there work done through a lady sitting there. I stepped forward and enquired why the queue was not moving. One of the agents began arguing with me, and abused other persons in the line," said Zambare.

Corruption on queue: The illegal parcel service agent arrested by railway police

The youngster then went and complained about the incident to station manager Sunil Kamthan. The latter sent across a team to address the situation.

"We nabbed one of the agents, and during interrogation we asked for his I-card for doing parcel service at the railway station. The card bore his name as Kishore Kamble, and he claimed that it had been issued to him by Government Railway Police (GRP). However, the card did not have any authorised stamp of GRP or railway authorities," said Kamthan.

Going off-line: Parcel office at Pune railway station

"The agent was behaving very rudely with all the people standing in queue at the parcel office. This is wrong, and railway administration should not allow such agents to enter their office and harass the public. I have submitted a written complaint to the railway authorities, and I hope that the person gets punished," Zambare added.

The I-card which was found with Kishore Kamble and he claimed that it was issued by GRP. Pics/Krunal Gosavi

By evening, the agent had been taken into custody by Railway Police Force (RPF) for further investigation. He has been identified as Kishore Kishan Kamble (35), a resident of Daund, and has been booked under sections 145 and 147 of The Railways Act. RPF inspector DS Rajput said, "We will conduct a detailed inquiry to find out where he obtained the I-card from. Till then we cannot reveal any other names, and the investigation is proceeding."

Kedar Zambare. Pics/ Krunal Gosaviu00a0

Authorities speak
Railway spokesperson YK Singh said, "According to the rules of railway authorities, we issue lease to owners of parcel service agents. Currently, around 50 leaseholders are functioning at Pune railway station and I-cards have been issued to them to provide their services. GRP is not authorised to issue any I-cards to parcel agents, and if they do so, they should inform the railway authorities."
Speaking on the entire issue, GRP inspector Abhay Parmar at Pune railway station told MiD DAY, "We have no connection with this person (the agent). I have checked with my staffers, and none of them have issued any I-card to any person. In fact, GRP has no authority to issue such I-cards. I will investigate the matter."
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