A railway ticketing racket allegedly involving fake Tatkal tickets, edited Aadhaar cards and unauthorized brokers has been uncovered after 11 passengers were caught travelling on suspected forged tickets aboard the Kushinagar Express. Investigators said the tickets were booked in Mumbai, digitally transferred to Gorakhpur and printed locally before being sold to passengers at inflated rates.
Ticket Without Barcode Raised Suspicion
The case came to light during ticket checking on the Kushinagar Express travelling from Gorakhpur to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. During verification, a ticket examiner noticed that one ticket did not carry a barcode, which is normally present on genuine railway tickets.
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A closer inspection suggested that the ticket had been reproduced through unauthorized means. During questioning, the passenger reportedly told officials that the ticket had been purchased from a broker. The discovery led the Railway Protection Force to examine other tickets and passengers on the train.
As the inquiry widened, officials found more suspected fake tickets. The enforcement action was carried out on Train No. 20104 bound for Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, where 11 passengers, including nine men and two women, were caught with allegedly forged tickets.
Tickets Booked in Mumbai, Printed in Gorakhpur
Preliminary findings suggest that brokers were using Passenger Reservation System counters in Mumbai to secure Tatkal tickets as soon as booking opened. Investigators said the network allegedly took advantage of earlier Tatkal booking access at some Mumbai counters.
Since original Tatkal tickets could not be physically transported from Mumbai to Gorakhpur within the short travel window, the network allegedly scanned the tickets and sent them electronically to agents in Gorakhpur. These agents then printed copies on paper resembling railway reservation tickets.
Investigators suspect that the printed tickets were made to appear like genuine counter-issued tickets. The total value of the seized suspected tickets has been estimated at ₹12,119.
Forged IDs Used to Bypass Verification
According to investigators, the network allegedly booked tickets in the names of other individuals and used forged or digitally altered Aadhaar cards to pass them on to actual passengers. Officials believe the method was intended to bypass Aadhaar-linked identity checks introduced for Tatkal bookings.
Legal action has been initiated against the passengers under Section 142 of the Railways Act. Six separate cases have also been registered against ticket brokers under Section 143 of the Railways Act for unauthorized ticket procurement and sale.
Investigators have launched a search for several suspected brokers, including Shyam alias Chintu, Dilip Kumar Chaurasia and Rajesh. Officials are examining financial transactions, communication records, booking histories and digital evidence to assess the full scale of the alleged racket.
