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Probe on into `misuse' of rail fare concession

By K.P. Pushparaj

KASARAGOD, MARCH 31. On a directive from the Railway Board, the commercial wing of the Railways has begun a probe into the charge of misuse of fare concessions given to the Physically Handicapped and the Blind.

The Railway Board has decided to extend the scope of the probe across the country in view of the alarming rate of irregularities detected during preliminary investigations. The investigations had found that many travel concessions taken under the category of physically handicapped or blind persons had been fraudulently made on the strength of medical certification. As there is no strict mechanism to crosscheck the veracity of the claims, the offenders managed to escape the law. With the provision of extending concessional fares to an aid to escort the "handicapped person", a qualifying certificate from a doctor fetched concessional fare for two persons to travel anywhere on the Indian Railway network.

It was based on a report on misuse of travel concessions that appeared in these columns six months ago that the Railway officials had launched a preliminary investigation into the case. It was found that many doctors issued certificates of handicap, ranging from 50 to 90 per cent of disability, depending on the remuneration received for the purpose. With this certificate, the passenger can avail himself of concession for a longer period, if not for life. The probe team found that certain doctors in each town were issuing the certificate, most with similar cases of handicap.

Officials of the Anti-Fraud squad of the Railways had visited select railway stations in Malabar region and gathered evidence of misutilisation of concessions granted to the Physically Handicapped. The Intelligence wing of the Railways had also conducted an inquiry and reported the matter to the Raiilway Board. The Board has taken serious note of the matter and has ordered a countrywide investigation.

"Almost 95 per cent of the claims are false. If this is the case here, I wonder what the situation would be in the northern States, where incidents of ticketless travel are more," a Railway official said.

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Probe on into `misuse' of rail fare concession

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