A 36-year-old man with no official railway designation was caught red-handed operating a government ticket counter at Mahim Railway Station on the night of July 4. The accused, identified as Vinod Davange, was reportedly operating the ticket counter on instructions from booking clerk Ganesh Patil. The vigilance team received a tip-off that a non-railway staffer was issuing tickets from the Mahim station counter. Acting on the information, the team conducted a surprise inspection around 7 p.m. on Friday at counter number 5 on platform 1. There they found Davange issuing tickets and handling government cash. Upon questioning, it was revealed that he was not a railway employee but someone who repairs printers.
Around 8.30 p.m., the vigilance officials entered the booking office in the presence of the station master. They found Chief Booking Supervisor Angad Devdas Dhawale, Shift In-charge Ramashankar R., and booking clerks Ganesh Patil and Vijay Devdiga sitting in a room having snacks. Only one ticket counter was operating at the time, and it was manned by Davange.
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Davange confessed that he was running the ticket counter on instructions from railway staff. A total of Rs 2,560 was seized from him, which has since been deposited in the government account. Additional excess cash of Rs 34 and Rs 45 was found at counters five and six respectively.
According to the reports, the matter was formally reported to the Dadar RPF post. Dabange was booked under Section 147 of the Railway Act early on July 5 and released with a legal notice. He has been directed to appear before the Railway Court on July 7. Following the incident, four railway officials were suspended. These include Angad Devidas Dhawale, Chief Booking Supervisor; Ramashankar R., Evening In-Charge; Ganesh Patil, Chief Booking Supervisor; and Vijay Devadiga, Chief Booking Clerk.