Ahmedabad: Bogus TTE caught collecting fines at Sabarmati station

Ahmedabad: A 26-year-old man posing as a travelling ticket examiner (TTE) was caught by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) at Sabarmati railway station on Thursday morning after he allegedly spent months learning railway jargon and procedures by befriending TTEs during train journeys.

The accused, Mukesh Mali, was handed over to Sabarmati railway police after he was found allegedly impersonating a TTE and collecting money from passengers travelling without tickets.

According to the complaint filed by RPF sub-inspector Chetankumar Prajapat, RPF personnel detained Mali around 6.05am from Platform No. 1 near the station master’s office at Sabarmati railway station. He was dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, resembling the attire worn by TTEs.

During questioning, Mali identified himself as a TTE but failed to produce his railway identity card. Suspecting foul play, RPF personnel brought him to the Sabarmati RPF post for further interrogation, where he confessed that he was not employed with the railways.

RPF inspector Maheshwar Chauhan said the accused had, over the past year, befriended several TTEs while travelling on trains in Mumbai and Rajasthan and learned railway terminology, ticket-checking procedures and other details from them.

“He became so familiar with railway work and jargon that even passengers and some railway employees believed he was genuine,” Chauhan said.

Police said Mali, who runs a clothes cart business in Mumbai, had allegedly been posing as a TTE for nearly six months and primarily targeted passengers travelling without tickets by collecting fines from them.

Officials said that while Mali was being questioned, he received multiple phone calls from people who addressed him as if he were a TTE. He has been booked for impersonation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.