With the Indian Railways starting 15 pairs of AC special trains from May 12 and announcing 100 pairs of additional trains from June 1, there has been an increase in the number of complaints against touts. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has taken up the task to identify and take action against the touts.
"As Indian Railways has started 15 pairs of AC special trains on May 12 and announced 100 pairs of additional trains from June 1, complaints had started to pour in regarding touts of e-tickets using multiple personal Ids and cornering reserved berths in these special trains. It was also apprehended that once the reservation for the 100 pairs of trains starts on May 21, the activities of these touts will escalate adversely affecting the availability of confirmed train reservations to the common man," reads an official statement issued by the Ministry of Railways.
It further adds: "The RPF has started a concerted nationwide effort to identify and act against these touts. Analysis of PRS data through PRABAL module clubbed with ground intelligence is being used to identify and bring them to book."
"The drive has been launched on May 20 and despite the impact of Amphan in the eastern part of the country, RPF has been able to arrest 14 touts including 8 IRCTC agents and recovered tickets worth Rs 6,36,727 wherein the journey is yet to be performed," said the Ministry.
On the touts, the statement says: "The IRCTC agents were using personal IDs to corner tickets and then sell them unauthorisedly at a premium. Action has been initiated to get them blacklisted. One tout was found using autofill software called SuperTatkal Pro."
( With inputs from ANI )