NEW DELHI: The railway police has blocked the booking of over 2,500 tickets which were reserved through unauthorised agents during the festive season. A total of 528 people were also arrested during
the period.
Railway Protection Force (RPF) director-general Arun Kumar said that the campaign was conducted by the RPF between October 26 and November 4.
“A total of 2,801 tickets worth Rs 70 lakh which were booked through touts have been blocked. In the festive period, a total of 15,426 used tickets worth Rs 2.51 crore were found and 528 people were arrested. Around 27 others are still absconding,” he said.
According to the RPF official, all email ids that have booked more than 14 tickets over the past three months have been scrutinized.
“The railway police has realised that this has become a business and it needs to be stopped,” Kumar said.
During this drive, as many as 2,720 personal email ids were found to be used for touting.
Also, 519 cases were registered, 65 regional service providers were blacklisted as well as 59 people were arrested.
Meanwhile, to monitor these drives, a committee has been formed consisting of four officers - one each from the IRCTC, RPF, CRIS, and the commercial department, Kumar said.
The RPF has proposed an amendment to Section 143 of the Railway Act to increase the fine for illegal sale or purchase of train tickets from the present Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000.