Man held in Delhi for extorting money from TTEs

The Delhi Police have arrested a 27-year-old man for posing as an assistant vigilance officer in the Indian Railways and allegedly extorting several travelling ticket examiners (TTE) across north India, officers aware of the matter said.

Deputy commissioner of police (Railways) KPS Malhotra identified the accused as Rajkumar Sharma, a resident of Aligarh. The DCP said Sharma was arrested on February 28 from the New Delhi Railway Station.

Giving details of the case, a senior officer connected with the investigation said on February 12, the police received a complaint from a railway official, who informed them that several TTEs had alleged that an assistant vigilance officer was threatening them.

“The man would threaten to take action against them for allowing passengers on board without a valid ticket — often, people who are waitlisted still board trains,” the officer said.

A case under relevant sections was registered and investigation was taken up, and the accused was subsequently held from the New Delhi Railway Station on Wednesday. When his identity card was checked, officers discovered that no person with that name was employed by northern railways, and the police then arrested him.

The officer quoted above said Sharma worked in the catering department of the railways in 2016, and during his stint in the railways, he learnt how TTEs and vigilance officers operate, from where he got the idea to cheat TTEs for easy money. “He has told us that some of the TTEs got scared and gave him money, but that’s an internal matter of the railways,” the officer said.