Travel agent held in Pune for duping labourers by promising Shramik train tickets

According to the police, labourers without token are allowed to board trains at the Pune station if seats are vacant

A travel agent was arrested by Pune police crime branch for allegedly duping migrant labourers seeking tickets for West Bengal-bound Shramik special trains. The trains are meant to ferry migrant labourers home.

A group of stranded migrants stand outside railway station before catching a Shramik train for Kolkata in Pune on May 29. (Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)

The accused has been identified as Dinesh Brijraj Singh, 35, a resident of Pune railway station area.

“The accused is listed on a local search engine as a travel agent for railway tickets. The labourers shared their numbers with Brijraj, who was seeking money from them to book their train tickets,” said senior inspector Mahendra Jagtap of Unit 2 of Pune police crime branch.

According to the police, labourers without token are allowed to board trains at the Pune station if seats are vacant.

Crime branch officials called the number, based on a tip, and asked for a ticket to West Bengal and caught him red-handed near a petrol pump located near Pune station around 6 pm on Friday demanding Rs 1,500-2,000. The police are investigating if he had duped labourers on the same pretext in the past.

A case under Sections 420 (punishment for cheating), 511 ( attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of Indian Penal Code along with Section 11 of Maharastra Covid-19 Regulation, 2020 was registered against him.