A passenger attempting to cheat the Railways by travelling on a fake ticket was caught red-handed, thanks to the alertness of a railway employee.
On the evening of November 11, ticket inspector Sai Prasad Sawant was on duty with the Vasai Road AC Local Squad. The team included inspectors Sandeep Saini, Birpal, Annaram Kadwana, Sandeep Rokde, Arvind Kumar, and Baljit Soda.
At around 7:16 p.m., the squad began ticket checks on an AC Virar slow local train departing from Borivali station. When the train reached Naigaon station at approximately 7:36 p.m., Sawant asked a passenger to show his ticket. The passenger confidently displayed a digital ticket on his UTS mobile app.
However, Sawant noticed some irregularities in the ticket details. To verify its authenticity, he checked the ticket number (UTS No: XODDDP02D) through the CRIS HHT (2.8.5) railway application, which confirmed that the ticket was invalid and fake.
Sawant immediately reported the matter to his superiors and, with the assistance of RPF and GRP officials, detained the passenger at Vasai Road station.
During questioning, the accused was identified as Rajendra Hiru Nikam (43), a resident of Nalasopara East. The Railway Police have registered a case against him for allegedly creating a fake ticket and attempting to defraud the railway administration.