Man arrested for hacking IRCTC website and selling tatkal tickets worth Rs 30 lakh in UP

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has apprehended a 47-year-old man for allegedly hacking into the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)'s e-ticketing website. As per a TOI report, the accused, Moinuddin Chisti from Dadri, is reported to have utilized illegal mobile applications to book tatkal and VIP quota tickets and then resold them at inflated prices. Chisti, who owns a railway ticketing shop in Greater Noida, earned an estimated Rs 30 lakh over the course of two years through these illicit activities.

The Dadri unit of the RPF received information regarding Chisti's activities from the cybercrime unit in Prayagraj. The suspicious booking of tatkal and premium berths through a mobile number in the Dadri area raised red flags. The cybercrime cell discovered that Chisti employed unauthorized software applications such as Nexus, Bigboss, and Sikka_V2 to generate personal user IDs on the IRCTC website. These applications expedite the online booking process by automating the entry of essential details, significantly reducing the time required for booking.

This isn't the first instance of such illegal activities. In July, a joint operation between the RPF and police teams from Dadri and Aligarh led to the arrest of a 22-year-old computer engineer who used the Nexus app to illegally book tatkal train tickets. These tickets were subsequently sold at a premium, resulting in earnings of Rs 15 lakh.


Following a technical analysis of the IP address linked to the mobile phone, law enforcement traced Chisti to his railway ticketing shop in Ayodhya Ganj. He was taken into custody on Monday under Section 143 of the Home Railways Act, 1989, which deals with unauthorized business activities related to procuring and supplying railway tickets. After being produced before a magistrate, Chisti was sent to jail on Tuesday. Authorities seized two laptops, a printer, a mobile phone, and cash from his shop. Additionally, it was discovered that he recently booked 88 train e-tickets valued at Rs 1.55 lakh.