RPF busts e-ticketing racket linked with terror funding .

New Delhi, Jan 22 (HS): The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has claimed to have cracked a racket involved in e-ticketing with its links to money laundering and terror funding. Addressing the media  RPF DG Arun Kumar said the e-ticketing racket mastermind was a software developer, Hamid Ashraf was also involved in the bombing of a school in Gonda in 2019 after which he fled to Dubai. A manhunt has been launched to nab him.

Arun Kumar said that the RPF has seized two laptops from their possession which has revealed that the gang was using the software named ‘ANMS’ which they used to bypass the barriers set up to curb illegal ticketing.

The RPF DG said that the laptops were using heavy encryption and after it was cracked it revealed the group had links to Pakistan-based outfit ‘Tableek-e-Jamaat.’He informed that so far over 27 suspects have been detained but Ashraf was absconding and was believed to be in Dubai.DG said that Ashraf was first arrested in 2016 by a joint team of CBI, railway vigilance and local police from Uttar Pradesh’s Basti.

The organized gang was involved in ticketing scams, money laundering and suspected terror financing with links to Dubai, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Kumar said. Talking to the media, Arun Kumar said that one of the accused has been identified as Ghulam Mustafa was involved in selling train tickets in the black market in Bangalore. The gang was reportedly earning about Rs 15 crore per month through this scam.

He said that the accused Mustafa used advanced software and laundered the cash through the use of the darknet. As per the initial reports he and his gang were also laundering money through bitcoins and crypto-currencies.

The investigation further revealed that Mustafa who had nearly 563 personal IRCTC accounts had maintained his accounts in 2,400 SBI branches and about 600 regional rural bank branches. Mustafa had multiple contacts with Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Middle East, Indonesian and Nepali numbers.

DG further said that Mustafa’s name flashed on the radar many times after the launch of Operation Thunder – a nation-wide exercise to curb touting activities. The RPF has also identified a Singapore based software company which was receiving money from the group.

DG said that after cracking the racket they have already informed the Singapore police who was conducting an investigation into this matter of money laundering.

Another shocking aspect revealed during the investigation was that one person named ‘Guruji’ was also involved who was the finance manager of the gang.

He also informed that the case was cracked with the active involvement and investigations carried out by NIA, Intelligence Bureau, and Karnataka police.