Railway police arrests 14 agents & touts; seizes Rs 6.3 lakh 'black' Covid special tickets

In a nationwide effort the Railway Protection Force (RPF) has taken up the responsibility to identify touts and take the necessary action against them. Complaints started to pour in regarding touts of e-tickets using multiple personal Ids and reserving berths in the special trains started by the Indian Railways from May 12. The RPF is also apprehended that the activities of touts will escalate once the reservation for the additional 100 pairs of trains will commence,  Ministry of Railways informed.

RPF has so far arrested 14 touts including 8 IRCTC agents and recovered tickets worth Rs 6,36,727 wherein the journey is yet to be undertaken, the Ministry added.

READ | Railways cancels intra-state tickets within Maharashtra, cites inter-district travel ban

"As Indian Railways has started 15 pairs of AC special trains on May 12 and announced 100 pairs of additional trains from June 1, complaints had started to pour in regarding touts of e-tickets using multiple personal Ids and cornering reserved berths in these special trains. It was also apprehended that once the reservation for the 100 pairs of trains starts on May 21, the activities of these touts will escalate adversely affecting the availability of confirmed train reservations to the common man," reads an official statement issued by the Ministry of Railways.

READ | Railway cancels tickets of special trains in Maharashtra after state bans inter-district travel

READ | Western Railway Recruitment 2020: Applications open for 177 posts of doctors & paramedics

The nationwide drive to identify the touts has been launched on May 20. Analysis of PRS data through PRABAL module clubbed with ground intelligence is being used to identify and bring them to book, the ministry informed. Despite the impact of Cyclone Amphan in the eastern part of the country, RPF has been able to arrest 14 touts including 8 IRCTC agents and recovered tickets worth Rs 6,36,727 wherein the journey is yet to be performed, said the Ministry.

"The IRCTC agents were using personal IDs to corner tickets and then sell them unauthorisedly at a premium. Action has been initiated to get them blacklisted. One tout was found using autofill software called SuperTatkal Pro", the statement informed.

Railways To Re-open Reservation Counters From May 22

The Railway Ministry on Thursday said that the Indian Railways will be opening its reservation counters for booking of reserved tickets in a phased manner from May 22. The Indian Railways has also allowed the booking of reservation tickets through the common service centres and ticketing agents from May 22.

READ | Railways to re-open reservation counters from May 22 as per 'local needs & conditions'