HYDERABAD: Just a week after its launch, the use of look-alike or counterfeit tokens to travel by the Metro Rail has already begun. As many as 110 fake tokens have been recovered at Ameerpet station till date and a dozen persons caught for the offence. All of them were counselled and let off by the police.
Most of these tokens are black, grey, and blue in colour and look like the tokens issued at bakeries and tea shops in the city. Though the shape and weight are mimicked, the fake token are devoid of magnetic chip that is embedded in the genuine tokens, and the user of such token cannot exit through the Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) gate.
These fake tokens, costing between Rs 10 and Rs 60, are sold by miscreants at stations. In spite of the numerous announcements made on the platform and concourse that use of ‘fake tokens’ is a punishable offence, the use continues. Some fake tokens appear to have a brand engraved - which hints at their largescale production, and could dent the revenue of HMR.
“The fake tokens do not have the HMR logo of criss-crossing angular lines carved on it or the unique number printed in black ink or a chip embedded in it,” said a station controller, under whose supervision two such instances were recorded at Erragadda. When asked about how they managed to gain entry, he said such offenders tailgate at entry point but get caught at the exit.
“Since the service is new, we have decided not to penalise or punish them now but will start penalising offenders after this month,” said a senior official of L&T, MRHL.
Obstructing the running of a metro train is punishable by a fine of Rs 5,000 and or imprisonment up to four years.
Official version
HMRL officials say some of the ‘lookalike’ tokens used during the testing of systems got mixed up with actual ones that are in circulation now. They added that they are removing them from circulation