BENGALURU:The Karnataka High Court recently dismissed the bail plea of an accused in an Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) scam.
After considering the contentions of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Justice L Narayanaswamy denied bail to T Stalin, aged about 35 and a resident of Sanjay Nagar, Ponniyammanmedu in Chennai.
The CBI contended that the case is still in the investigation stage and a chargesheet is yet to be filed. They said Stalin was part of a larger conspiracy involving several people, including public servants whose names have not been established yet. It is paramount to nab the other accused for which the interrogation of Stalin is crucial, CBI told the court.
Stalin was booked under various Sections of IPC, Prevention of Corruption Act and Information Technology Act.
Modus Operandi
By installing a software, Stalin, a travel agent, could book six separate tickets — for a maximum of 36 passengers — whereas in the normal course, they can book only one ticket with a maximum of six passengers. The software allows opening of six separate windows resulting in the generation of six tickets at the same time. The IRCTC realises the payment of only one ticket and the other five tickets are unpaid for, hence causing a huge loss.
According to the objections filed by CBI, Stalin had conspired with several other accused, including IRCTC officials and hackers by installing some software in the computers used for booking railway tickets.
The CBI added that due to these malpractices, passengers are affected when booking tatkal tickets. Also, when rectifications were made in the IRCTC website to prevent such malpractices, the accused IRCTC officials working in New Delhi, alerted the other accused regarding the changes made in the IRCTC website.
With this information, the accused managed to make necessary changes in their software and carry out bulk booking of tickets.
“During the raid conducted by the CBI on the premises used by Stalin, several incriminating materials were seized. The material against Stalin points clearly to his active participation in the offences”, CBI said.
When the CBI investigating team visited the premises owned by Stalin, they were attacked by the latter and his associates. A case regarding this has been registered at Anna Nagar police station, Chennai. If Stalin is released on bail, he may scuttle the ongoing investigation process, flee from the clutches of law and may also indulge in similar crimes, CBI said.