Transfer 40 erring TTEs: CBI

In his letter dated October 26, 2016, the head of ACU, Chennai has ‘requested’ the senior deputy general manager (vigilance) of Southern Railway to transfer “all the accused persons out of the division to conduct fair investigation” of the case (RC MA1 2016 A 0009). 

The ACU chief of the premier investigating agency, in their letter, (copy of which is available with DTNext), has also advised his railway counterpart to direct concern officers to “compare the PNR numbers mentioned in the EFT (issued by the accused TTEs) with railway records” and confirm their genuineness. CBI has sent copies of select EFT, money receipts and returns submitted by the TTEs. 

An officer privy to the investigation confirmed that the railway vigilance department had forwarded the complaints to `commercial branch to conduct a detailed investigation and table a report of the same. 

“The report will be sent to the CBI and follow up action would be taken,” a SR officer requesting anonymity said, adding that the CBI might have faced some hurdles during the probe and hence the recommendation to transfer of accused ticket examiners. 

The TTEs, numbering 41, were found working illegally in the division (on trains operated from here) despite the management transferring them out of here. The TTEs had also collected fine and issued EFT running in to several thousand from traveling public even without their names figuring in the musters in the division. Involvement of a few officers was ‘established’ by the fact that the TTEs had also submitted their illegal returns. Early this year, the TTEs had suggested returning the money they had illegally collected to the travellers.

Railway sources admitted that such a settlement was jointly considered by the TTEs and a few officers until the CBI poured cold water on their plans by investigating the case following media reports exposing the illegal continuance of the TTEs and unlawful collection of fines from travelling public.