Railway Police seek curbs on unreserved travel

CHENNAI: Boarding a Chennai-bound express train with unreserved tickets at Cuddapah in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh last January, two passengers were desperate to avail berths in an air-conditioned coach. Their pleas were heeded by the Travel Ticket Examiner (TTE), who regretted it later. The duo were thieves who fled with 100 sovereigns of gold they stole from a co-passenger within a couple of hours. Four months have passed since the theft was reported but investigators are still groping in the dark for any clue to the identity of the thieves. “The two men could have been traced if the TTE had insisted upon some identity proof, at least their mobile numbers. This is a classic case of the lack of identity proof before confirmed tickets are issued on moving trains hinders investigations,” a government Railway Police official pointed out. The police said that accommodating unreserved ticket holders in reserved compartments compounds the problem, as it often results in bag lifting, eve-teasing and theft. Faced with the menace of criminals camouflaged as commuters, the Railway Police have sought a blanket ban on unauthorised travel in reserved compartments. In fact, the issue figured in the high level coordination meeting of senior police officials and the Railway Protection Force from the four southern States of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh with Southern Railway authorities in Chennai on April 20, reliable sources claimed. Passengers booking tickets at the railway reservation counters must disclose their residential address and phone numbers. However, this provision is not mandated for unreserved tickets. In the event of the unreserved ticket being upgraded during the journey, it is not necessary for a passenger to disclose his or her details. Taking advantage of this, people commit crimes and escape leaving little scope for further interrogation, police sources said. “It is the need of the hour, as most trains are congested during the summer vacation,” a police official stressed. When contacted, a senior official with Southern Railway clarified that vacant seats on moving trains were allotted to unreserved passengers, only in the absence of Reservation Against Cancellation (RAC) or waiting list passengers. Unauthorised travel in reserved coaches was not entertained, the official said.