The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has informed the Colombo Magistrate’s Court that concerning information has been uncovered on the involvement of certain officials in the train e-ticket scam.
CID officials told the court yesterday (Jan 28) that an investigation has been launched based on this information.
They stated that the probe had been launched after information had been extracted from the suspects arrested so far in connection to the e-ticket scam.
Stating that an initial probe had been launched based on a complaint filed by the Railway Department on the scam, the CID officials said four suspects have been arrested so far.
The Colombo Magistrate’s Court has instructed the CID to conduct further investigations into the matter and report facts to the court.
The scam came to light when it was revealed that reserved tickets on the upcountry line were selling out within 46 seconds of release.
During a discussion of the Kandy District Coordination Committee meeting, Deputy Minister of Transport Prasanna Gunasena raised concerns over the large-scale racket related to e-tickets for train services to Ella.
Disclosing information on this racket, he noted there have been cases where groups that buy all the online tickets immediately are later seen selling a ticket worth Rs. 2,000 for Rs. 16,000 to foreigners. (Newswire)