Train ticket examiner gets 4 yrs jail for pocketing penalty

A special court here on Thursday sentenced a head ticket examiner of the Western Railway to four years of imprisonment for pocketing funds collected as penalty from ticketless travellers at suburban Dadar station here.

Special CBI court judge A S Sayed awarded the sentence to Nitin Dahate after convicting him under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and IPC 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence).

The prosecution said that the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) unit of the CBI had received information that Dahate was collecting penalty from the passengers and not depositing the amount with the railway authorities.

Based on the information, a surprise check was conducted by ACB sleuths, along with the vigilance officers of railways on October 2, 2016, the prosecution said.

During the inspection, Dahate was found checking the tickets of passengers alighting from suburban trains and collecting fine from ticketless travellers without issuing receipts. The amount collected as penalty was being pocketed by him, the prosecution said.

He was then found possessing Rs 1,174 cash. During his interrogation at the railway office, Dahate tried to throw Rs 7,650 from his pocket behind the cupboard. However, one of the officers noticed his act and the cash was recovered immediately.

Following an inquiry, a case was registered against Dahate and he was placed under arrest, the prosecution said.