Tickets for June 18 gone in minutes

Rizia Begum stood in a queue at Rajshahi Railway Station at least five hours before the booking masters began selling tickets for different destinations at 8:30am yesterday.

She wanted to buy a return ticket of Dhumketu Express for June 18, for her brother who works in Dhaka.

To her dismay, the booking masters closed the counters, notifying that no tickets were available within minutes after tickets started selling.

“How can there be none after selling tickets to just a handful of people?” Rizia asked. She also said she talked to several people who joined the queue hours before her.

Hundreds of people waited to collect tickets of Padma Express, Dhumketu Express, Chitra Express and a special train. 

Meanwhile, at 8:45am, a mobile court led by Anisur Rahman, an executive magistrate, arrived at the station and conducted a raid.

The court arrested six, including two women, from the queues in half an hour.

Four of the arrested admitted before the court that they stood in the queues to buy 50 to 100 tickets each, intending to resell at higher prices later.

The four are -- Rekha, 35; Mahbuba Khatun, 45; Bappi, 29; Dulal Hossain, 38 -- all from Seroil Colony area, adjacent to the railway station.

The court fined them Tk 500 each for black-marketing tickets.

Hours later, the railway authorities, however, announced a special train on June 18 and sold its tickets.