TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO/PANJIM: In separate raids CBI sleuths and RPF swooped down on ticketing counters and reservation departments in Vasco, Margao and Karmali railway stations.
In Margao, they also swooped down on touts and booking agents operating at the Margao railway station on Tuesday morning.
While the CBI sleuths were interrogating the role of two touts in selling train tickets for a premium, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) officials along with Special Judicial Magistrate, S B Faria apprehended three alleged touts, who were let off after imposing fines.
The raids were carried out as a part of pan-India investigation into Tatkal booking irregularities. According to a senior CBI officer, the raids will continue on Wednesday as well.
“There have been complaints that railway employees assigned at the reservation counters demand bribe from people to get the reservations or else, they show the bookings as full,” said a CBI inspector. “Though additional trains are brought into service during the festive season from various parts, people still don’t get reservation. Many say they even fail to get confirmed tickets under Tatkal.”
A CBI official A K Dabas was huddled with his assistants in the office of senior commercial supervisor, preparing the paper work against two suspects involved in selling train tickets at a premium. He told the media that the team is interrogating the two suspects to ascertain their links with the main kingpin operating in the illegal sale of train tickets. “These raids have been conducted across the country by the CBI to check touts and agents selling train tickets,” he said.
Sources in the know said that touts and agents make brisk business at the Margao railway authorities right under the nose of the railway and police officials. In fact, complaints are galore that it’s easy to get a train ticket from a tout than from the ticket counter at the Margao railway station, with touts and agents literally having a field day at the station.
