Railway Protection Force (Central Railway unit) got a big boost in its fight against touting after the 35th railway court at CST allowed its plea to declare a wanted tout—Shamsher Khan—an absconder.
This proclamation under section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) would enable RPF to move to the next step, attaching Khan's property in case he fails to appear before court for the next hearing scheduled on December 9, said RPF officials.
"Now, as part of the legal formalities, RPF officials will go to Gonda in Uttar Pradesh and with the help of Gaura Chowki police paste posters on the house of the accused asking him to appear before the court, failing which his property would be attached," said a senior RPF officer.
Dna, in its Oct 17 edition, had highlighted how RPF had submitted an application in the railway court seeking to declare Khan an 'absconder'.
Officials believe it's possibly the first time that RPF is taking the fight against an elusive tout to this level. "It just shows our commitment in the fight against touting. It's affecting thousands of people, especially during festival seasons when despite the railways running so many special and routine trains, common people fail to get tickets," said an officer.
Khan's name came to the fore after RPF busted a racket in March, which also included a young collegian from Ghatkopar. The raid, carried out after two months of surveillance by CR's commercial and vigilance departments, was the first time that authorities had managed to lay hands on an automation software that helped touts corner tickets on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website faster than transactions made on the website by bonafide passengers.
What the law says
Section 82: Talks of the procedure to declare a person an 'absconder' if that person fails to appear before the court even after being served summons and also avoids arrest warrant issued against him.
Section 83: Declaring an accused an absconder as described in section 82 is the final step to get the person to appear before the court. If that person fails to attend court even after this, section 83 empowers the court to attach his/her property.
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