Pune: Not only fake ticket checkers but the passengers travelling in Central Railway trains are also being duped by bogus policemen.
As per the information given by the Central Railway, the officials have apprehended four fake police personnel and six fake ticket-checkers apart from several fake catering staffers.
The railway passengers were caught by the ticket checkers in each of its 68 divisions across the country. While railway authorities are tightening the noose around the freeloaders by employing more ticket checkers and with effective penalties, the miscreants are coming up with novel methods to escape the checking. Among these were ticketless travellers posing as police personnel or catering staffers.
In Pune division alone, ticket checking staff members have caught about 1.72 lakh ticketless travellers, while for the entire Central Railway zone, which has five divisions under it, 19.15 lakh cases were reported with Mumbai division registering the highest at 8.13 lakh cases.
As per the railway officials, in the last few months, they have caught as many as four persons who were posing as policemen and were carrying forged ID cards. Apart from this, the railway authorities have also caught as many as six persons who were posing as ticket checkers either to travel without a ticket or to extort money from other ticketless travellers.
Officials said that the Central Railway has intensified its drive against ticketless and irregular travel. Some senior officers are also closely monitoring the revenue loss due to ticketless travel and other such irregularities.
“While performing the ticket checking duties, the staff of Central Railway has apprehended 6 fake ticket checkers, 4 fake police personnel and one fake catering staff in last four to five months,” said officials.
