Hyderabad, April 22: Anyone who has ever tried to book a railway ticket under the Tatkal scheme knows the inherent pains attached to it. Even if you reach the reservation counters at the station at 6.30 a.m for the counters to open at 7.30 a.m., mentally patting yourself on the back and sniggering at the unlucky others still sleeping peacefully, you are dismayed to find a long snaking queue in front of you.
And even if you are one of the priveleged first ten people in line, you find that the tickets are sold out before you even fish out your form.
The Vigilance officials of the South Central Railway have solved this mystery with the arrest of a man who, in collusion with railway employees attached with the Saroornagar reservation centre, was illegally selling Tatkal tickets booked under fictitious names at exorbitant prices to people.
It is alleged that similar irregularities have been taking place at several reservation counters across the city.
Officials of South Central Railways (SCR) said that P Sridhar Reddy, an enquiry-cumreservation clerk at the Saroornagar station and Satish Kumar, an agent, were caught for allegedly organising a racket in which they illegaly sold railway tickets along with others associates. Based on a tip off, vigilance officials had kept the Saroornagar Railway reservation counter under surveillance since the last 10 days.
“On Thursday morning around 8 a.m., raids were conducted on the reservation counter and it was found that an amount of Rs 21,000 cash was missing. During the inquiry, we found that several tickets were booked with fictitious names under Tatkal scheme,” Chief Vigilance Inspector Anuj Kumar told City Express. Sridhar Reddy had allegedly reserved tickets in various trains using 18 unaccounted reservation forms. Since the reservation counter was under surveillance, officials immediately nabbed the tout Satish Kumar.
“The touts of the organised racket had been standing in front of various reservation counters as early as 4.30 a.m. When the reservation begins at 7.30 a.m, they would submit multiple reservation forms at once and reserve tickets under the Tatkal system in various trains. These tickets will then be sold subsequently in black market to those in dire need at exorbitant rates,” Anuj Kumar said.
SCR officials said that Satish Kumar was arrested under section 143 of Railway Act by the Railway Police Force. Further inquiry is being conducted against Sridhar Reddy to establish the nexus between him and the touts.
Beginning this summer, unprecedented demand has been there for railway tickets across the city and the offenders were using this as an opportunity to make easy money, officials said.
–Agencies