E-Ticket Racket Worth Rs 4.50 Crore Busted in Surat

In a major breakthrough, authorities in Surat have uncovered an e-ticket racket worth Rs 4.50 crore, leading to the arrest of a travel agent involved in the scam. Rajesh Mittal, a travel agent, was apprehended for using pirated software to generate instant railway tickets illegally.

The scam came to light when the Mumbai Railway Protection Force (RPF) team raided a flat in the City Light area and discovered the illicit activities. The pirated software, installed on six laptops for Rs 5,000 each, was used to book e-tickets.

Further investigations led to the arrest of Raju Yuvraj Pandit, who installed the pirated software on Rajesh Mittal’s laptop. Raju, originally from Jharkhand and currently residing in the Godadara area of Surat, charged Rs 5,000 per installation and an additional Rs 1,000 as monthly rent.

The manager of Ekta Travels allegedly used this software for illegal ticket bookings. According to Umra police, Raju supplied the software to Rajesh Mittal and earned Rs 30,000 monthly from the operation. The police are now investigating other potential accomplices in the racket.