CR Railway Protection Force Comes Down Heavily on Touts ;  registered 269 cases & arrested 317 persons during April – October 2023

Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Central Railway intensified the campaign against touts to counter the menace of touting of railway reservation tickets and to safeguard the interest of bonafide passengers. 

Central Railway RPF team conducting raids based on the data received from cyber cell and other inputs. These raids were conducted mostly in the premises of private travel agencies on all five divisions of Central Railway.

During the current year from April 2023 to October 2023, in all 269 cases of touting registered and so far 317 persons were arrested under section 143 of Railways Act and fined Rs. 3.42 lakhs.

Out of these 269 cases, 97 cases of touting were registered on Mumbai Division alone during the current year from April 23 to October 2023 and so far 117 persons were arrested. followed by Bhusawal division with 72 cases registered and 77 persons arrested for illegal touting activities. 

RPF of Pune division registered 56 cases and 74 persons arrested, Nagpur division with 36 cases of touting activity with 41 persons arrested and Solapur division registered 8 cases and 8 persons arrested.

The Central Railway RPF IT Cell and Skill Development Center equipped with various software like PRABAL and others which provides assistance in e-touting investigation, Cyberspace surveillance, CCTV monitoring etc. During the corresponding period of last year also the RPF has registered 178 cases of touting and arrested 208 persons with imposition of fine of Rs. 6.64 lakhs.

Central Railway appeals to the passengers to travel with valid railway tickets and not to buy tickets from touts involved in online e-ticketing as they cannot perform their journey as well as loss of their money if tickets are blocked on account of legal action.