They scalped 500 train tickets daily

A section of railway station staff and an online ticket-selling company aided syndicates in acquiring and distributing tickets at inflated prices. This caused ticket shortages in stations across the country.

The Rapid Action Battalion arrested 14 members of these nexus, including the masterminds, from various parts of the capital on Thursday night, Rab Legal and Media Wing director Commander Khandaker Al Moin told a press briefing today.

The arrestees are -- gang leaders Uttam Chandra Das, 30, and Md Selim, 50, gang members Anwar Hossain alias Kashem, 62, Abani Sarker Sumon, 35, Harun Miah, 60, Mannan, 50, Anwar Hossain, 50, Faruk, 62, Shahidul Islam Babu, Jewel, 23, Abdur Rahim, 32, Morshed Miah, 45, Abdul Ali, 22, and Zobayer, 25.

Teams of Rab-3 arrested them in separate drives from Kamalapur and Airport railway stations.

A total of 1,244 train tickets of different routes, 14 mobile phones, and Tk 20,000 in cash were seized from them.

"Selim had been running his gang at Kamalapur for 35 years while Uttam at Airport Station for 15 years. They used to block and subsequently collect the tickets of different trains from railway servers and booking counters with the help of corrupt employees. The gang members used to take 50 percent of the profit after sale, while the rest was given to the railway employees," Moin said.

They paid each individual Tk 100 for gathering four tickets using their NIDs, accumulating around 500 tickets daily through this method.

Additionally, the arrested individuals also employed students to purchase tickets on their behalf.

During special holidays such as Eid, Puja, and weekends, the arrested individuals collaborated with railway employees and online ticket-selling companies. They used to reach out to the IT officers of the companies and instruct them to cause disruption in their servers, making sure passengers couldn't buy tickets online, said Moin.