Mumbai: In a special drive to eradicate the menace of touting (re-selling of illegally booked railway tickets), the Western Railway along with the RPF seized tickets worth more than Rs 32 crore and arrested 747 persons in 2022, which was 63% higher than in 2021.
Following the directions by the Railway Board, special teams of staff from Detective Wing/RPF Crime Branch and Cyber Cell divisions were formed to conduct special drives against the touts.
According to the railway authorities, the accused, with the help of some authorised IRCTC agents, book tickets by using fake IDs, and sell them to needy passengers at high prices. RPF has been undertaking intensive action in a mission mode under the code name 'Operation Uplabdh' against persons involved in touting. Under the drive, a total of 747 accused were apprehended and tickets worth Rs 32,64,57,602 were seized in 2022. They also seized 26 illegal software in 34 cases.
In January 2023, on the basis of digital input supplemented by human intelligence, the RPF team succeeded in nabbing 47 cases of touting of railway e-ticketing with a seizure of 183 tickets valued at Rs 5,93,738.
