Mumbai: Railway vigilance squads and teams from the commercial department are keeping a watch across stations to ensure that insiders don’t aid conversion of black money into white using funds provided by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The RBI has been infusing funds into the Railways even as the government has allowed citizens to use the banned Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes to book tickets.
Western railway’s chief public relations officer Ravindar Bhakar said, “We are keeping a watch on employees through the commercial department to ensure that lower denomination notes are made available to the fullest to the commuters.”
At many stations, booking clerks ran out of lower denomination notes, leading to altercations between the railway staff and customers. Many alleged the shortages were artificial, accusing the railway employees themselves of siphoning off lower denomination currency notes.
On November 8, shortly after the demonetization announcement, Deepak Kumar, a deputy station master at Grant Road, removed 10 bundles of Rs 100 and two bundles of Rs 50 from the Railway’s cash meant to be handed over to commuters as change. WR has since suspended him.
Source:- TOI
