Mumbai: Western Railway reports 46 cases of touting, seizes e-tickets worth Rs 26.70 lakh

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The Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Western Railway (WR) has detected 46 cases of illegal sale of tickets, with a total of 1088 e-tickets, valued at Rs 26.70 lakh, seized in April so far.

In a special drive, conducted by WR against touts in all six divisions, the RPF official seized 1088 E-tickets as well as journey-cum-reservation tickets worth approximately Rs 26.70 lakhs this month.

According to the press release issued by Sumit Thakur, chief public relations officer of Western Railway, the RPF WR formed special teams of dedicated staff from the Detective Wing of RPF Crime Branch, Cyber Cell and Divisions to launch special drives against touts. "It was observed that touts were booking tickets using several fake identity cards, including some authorized IRCTC agents who used fake IDs to issue tickets, thereby charging extra money from innocent passengers. In the year 2022, RPF WR arrested 769 accused of illegal touting and seized tickets worth more than Rs. 32.63 Cr in 629 cases," the statement read.

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Thakur said, "In just 15 days of this month, Western Railway's RPF detected 46 cases of illegal touting and apprehended 49 persons through special drives. 1088 journey tickets including e-tickets worth approximately Rs 26.70 lakh were seized in the cases detected from April 1 to 15, 2023. The case under Section 143 of the Railways Act has been registered against the miscreants."

Thakur added, "Apart from such regular drives for arrest and prosecution of touts, RPF WR has also conducted several awareness campaigns for sensitizing the public to discourage purchasing tickets through illegal touts. The campaign also aimed to educate passengers regarding the legal provisions of Section 143 of the Railways Act and the consequences of buying tickets/e-tickets from touts."