The imposter’s bluff was called when the commuter asked him to show his identity card; was handed over to Government Railway Police at Pune station
A Fake travelling ticket examiner (TTE), who was caught red-handed by a passenger onboard Mumbai Express, was handed over the officials of the Government Railway Police (GRP) on Saturday.
Shivkumar Molkire was travelling in a general compartment to Pune from Chennai, when he noticed a ‘TTE’ entering the bogie at Daund station.
Suspicious of his appearance, because the TTE had only worn a black coat without the railway badge, Molkire asked him for his identity card and this blew his cover. The imposter was later handed over to the GRP officials at Pune station.
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“The incident happened at around 10 pm when the train halted at Daund railway station. This person entered the bogie and started checking tickets. His appearance raised doubts in my mind, as he had only put on a black coat. When I asked him for his identity card, he fumbled and looked startled. Since the train had picked up speed, he was unable to jump out. Finally, we handed him over to the police,” said Molkire. The imposter was identified as Santosh Parshuram Sonawane (36), a resident of Solapur. He was arrested and booked under sections 170 and 171 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
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GRP Sub-inspector S Y Patil said, “We received a complaint from passengers of the Mumbai Express about this person who was checking tickets and collecting fine from passengers. He did not have any identity card or licence from railways authorising him to do check tickets.”
Molkire said, “The fake TTE looked calm and composed initially, but after a while he started pleading with us to let him go. He even tried giving us Rs 2,000 to secure his release. But we took him to the railway police at Pune station.”
Commenting on the issue, railway spokesperson Y K Singh confirmed that Sonawane did not belong to the railways and was a fake TTE. “Passengers should be alert about such people and try to defame the Indian Railways. I hope GRP takes stringent action against this person,” he said.
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