Many times you would have tried to book a Tatkal Ticket to travel in train yourself and you would have noticed that you were mostly unsuccessful in booking the Tatkal ticket directly via IRCTC Next Generation Website – www.irctc.co.in whereas, if you approached a travel agent then the ticket booking was successful. Did you also notice that they used a Booking Software to book Tatkal Tickets? This is where the problem lies.
Why is the Software under CBI Scanner?
As per the information available, the software used by these travel agents is now under CBI Scanner because of the algorithm it uses. It is known that the software uses multiple IRCTC Login ID to login so as to enable the bulk ticket booking. In addition to this, it was also highlighted that the software bypasses the Captcha Code so as to book the ticket and generate the PNR for the booking very quickly.
What is the Big Deal about this?
This software was available for the travel agents for a certain cost and hence they were able to book Tatkal tickets quickly. So, basically, the travel agents used to keep the details of the passengers auto-filled. As soon as the ticket booking for Tatkal started, they used to initialize the ticket booking process with the software. Now, this software didn’t require IRCTC Next Generation Login Details or anything else. It simply booked a ticket in nick of time without a problem
The software was basically used to get the unauthorized access to the IRCTC Computer network. This process is not legally allowed and it breaks the rules and regulations laid by IRCTC. Such softwarewas being sold at a cost and most of the developers were also collecting a commission in form of pay per use. This is something not acceptable.
Apart from this, the software also created a problem for passengers. Most of the tickets were eaten by the travel agents and hence the people who tried to book tickets using the IRCTC portal had to return empty-handed. The only option people really had was to approach the travel agent and book the tickets. They also had to pay a premium for the tickets and this amount had been quite high for everyone. This practice is illegal and hence the software used came in CBI Scanner.
Conclusion
As per the information available, the software is now under CBI Scanner and CBI has initiated an enquiry in regards to the software. The investigating officer has worked in IRCTC and he has worked on the system that was used for booking ticket. The officer works as an engineer from 2007 to 2011 and he was then selected in CBI. This is an added advantage for us as the Investigating officer has an understanding of the system which would help them in getting into the details of the case. We can hope that the issue will be resolved quickly and we will be able to book tickets with our own IRCTC Login ID and our IRCTC e-Wallet instead of paying the amount to agents.
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