Atul Mohan Adalinge, a 30-year-old man from Loni Kalbhor, was arrested by the railway police for selling fake platform tickets at Pune Railway Station. The accused had been engaging in fraudulent activities for several days, with passengers complaining about being sold altered tickets.
Adalinge was purchasing platform tickets for a ₹10 fee, then using a black pen to alter the destination station name and inflate the prices to amounts like ₹310, ₹410, ₹510, or even ₹810. He would then sell these forged tickets to illiterate passengers, particularly targeting those traveling to North India.
The fraud came to light on January 31, when two passengers, Nirman Vasudev Yadav (17) and Narendra Omi Kashyap (18), reported being sold tickets at an inflated price. A third passenger, Sanjukumar Tikaram Yadav from Bilaspur, also filed a similar complaint with the Pune RPF.
On February 1, after technical analysis, the railway police tracked Adalinge down near the main gate of the railway station and arrested him. In his possession, the police found two altered platform tickets and a black pen, the tool used to forge the documents.
Adalinge, who had previously been arrested in a sexual harassment case in Solapur and released on bail after five months, had moved to Pune to engage in fraudulent activities. A case has been registered against him under sections 318(4) and 316(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and investigations are ongoing.
