Fake tickets: Two Railways officials held for corruption

23,000 fake tickets worth Rs15 million were seized in the raid.

BAHAWALPUR:

Two Pakistan Railways officials were arrested on corruption charges in a raid at Khanpur railway station on Friday.

Senior Commercial Booking Clerk Ishrat Shah and Chief Commercial Supervisor Muhammad Latif are accused of printing and selling fake tickets for Khanpur-Karachi rail service.

Three others mentioned in the FIR registered in the matter have yet to be arrested. These are Audit Officer Mubashir Malik, Booking Clerk Sabab Ali and former booking clerk Muhammad Arif. The raiding team also seized 23,000 fake tickets that would have been sold for Rs15 million. The price of a ticket for Karachi to Khanpur train service is Rs650.

The raid was carried out by Commercial Officer (Sukkur Division) Fateh Muhammad, Multan SSP (Railways) Rubina Yameen and Assistant Commercial Officer (Multan Division) Sikandar Ali Lashari. Fateh Muhammad said he had been tipped off about sale of fake tickets in Sukkur. He said the activity had reportedly been underway for a year.

Multan DSP (Railways) Amjad Manzoor Langah has been assigned to investigate the matter.

The FIR mention Sections 109 (abetment), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant), 420 (cheating and dishonestly Inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) and 471 (using a forged document as genuine).

The maximum punishment for those found guilty of these offenses is life imprisonment.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2012.