Gwalior: A man caught while impersonating a Travel Ticket Examiner (TTE) and collecting money from passengers travelling without reserved tickets on the Pune-Jammu Tawi Jhelum Express has been identified as an Indian Army personnel, the Government Railway Police (GRP) has said.
A video showing the fake TTE collecting money from passengers and allotting them ‘confirmed berths’ on board the train went viral last week. He was later apprehended by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and handed over to the GRP at Gwalior station.
The video showed the man approaching waitlisted passengers and promising them confirmed berths if they paid him directly. He is seen pocketing cash paid by the travellers and scribbling on their tickets. The clip went viral before long and the railways took action even before the man got a chance to get off.
RPF personnel reached the coach in which the video has been shot and apprehended the bogus TTE. The GRP recovered Rs 1,620 from his possession.
India Today has quoted GRP TI Jitendra Chandeliya as saying that a complaint was received through the 139 railway helpline about a fake TTE.
“We received a message regarding a man extorting money on the Jhelum Express. He was caught after verification and identified as Kamal Pandey, a soldier posted in Uttar Pradesh. Rs 1,620 was seized from him. An FIR has been registered, and the matter is under investigation,” Chandeliya said.
The GRP confirmed that Pandey has no prior criminal record. An investigation is underway to determine how the soldier managed to impersonate a TTE and board the train undetected.
A few days ago, another Army jawan was arrested on charges of stealing high-end motorbikes from the Navy’s high-security residential enclave at Cuffe Parade in Mumbai.