24 touts were arrested and 317 tickets were seized worth Rs 6.28 lakh in raids conducted by WR's special teams of dedicated staff from RPF's Crime branch under Operation Tatkalin Mumbai, Surat, Indore, Vadodara, Ujain, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Ratlam etc. These raids were conducted to curb touting activities by unscrupulous elements in view of complaints against touts regarding misuse & blocking of tatkal for higher premium from innocent passengers due to gap in demand & supply in festivals season & vacations. Till now total 432 touts were arrestedand 6623 tickets worth Rs 1.66 Cr have been seized from touts in various drives against touts during the year 2019.
According to a press release issued by Shri Ravinder Bhakar, Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway,further data are being retrieved from Seized PCs/ Laptops, which may lead to further Seizures of e-tickets. It is pertinent to mention that touts are booking tickets by using different fake IDs. Passengers/citizens have been alerted by WR against the various modus operandi of touts through PA system, pasting of sticker/poster, distributing pamphlets in train and premises. Awareness campaigns have also been organized by WR to educate the passengers regarding the legal provisions of section 143 of Railways Act & consequences of buying tickets/ e-tickets from touts. For better service & assistance of Passengers, such drives will be regularlyplanned in future by RPF against touts as commitment of WR.
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