Tea vendor arrested

Mumbai: A tea vendor at a canteen in Mumbai has been arrested for allegedly selling reserved railway tickets using forged signatures and seals of senior railway officials. The scam came to light after a surprise inspection by the vigilance team on a train traveling from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to Howrah, where they discovered that tickets were being reserved under the VIP quota through illegal means.

The vigilance team boarded the train late Thursday night and conducted an inspection in the S2 sleeper coach. During the inspection, they identified six suspicious passengers traveling on reserved tickets under the VIP quota. It was found that one of the passengers was traveling under another passenger’s name, leading to the collection of additional fees from him. The others were found to have valid identification.

These passengers had paid a significant amount to an individual at CSMT who provided them with confirmed reservation tickets. The vigilance team arrested the individual responsible for issuing the tickets under the high-ranking official quota. The suspect, identified as Ravindra Kumar Shahu, was found to be working at the guard canteen on the fourth floor of the traffic accounting building at CSMT. During the inspection, multiple seals from different railway departments were discovered in his possession.

Shahu reportedly filled out reservation requests with PNR information and forged signatures of officials, submitting these applications to the emergency quota cell at the divisional railway manager’s office. Financial transactions from his bank account revealed earnings of approximately Rs 1 to Rs 1.5 lakh per month.

While speaking to The Perfect Voice, Dr. Swapnil Neela, Chief Public Relations Officer, said, “That accused had created fake stamps of three to four railway officials and was using them to secure tickets from the VIP quota. He urged passengers not to fall prey to the allure of reserved tickets and to report any information regarding ticket brokers to the railway administration immediately.”