Shohoz employee suspended after arrest over black market train ticket sales

Shohoz, the company responsible for Bangladesh Railway's e-ticketing system, has suspended an employee named Md Rezaul Karim over the sale of tickets on the black market.

The Rapid Action Battalion-1 arrested the 38-year-old systems engineer and two others, the elite police unit said in a statement on Thursday. Rezaul was the mastermind of the black market ring selling train tickets, it said, adding that details will be shared in a press briefing on Thursday.

Rezaul was suspended after his arrest from Kamalapur Railway Station on Tuesday , said Shohoz.

Shohoz-Synesis-Vincen JV, a joint venture, got the contract to sell Bangladesh Railway e-tickets at the end of March. Before that, a company named Computer Network System (CNS) had handled e-ticket sales for over a decade.

Passengers have complained of difficulties buying tickets online since Shohoz took over. They say they are not getting advance tickets for Eid travel and that some people are buying tickets before they are supposed to go on sale online.

There is no scope for selling tickets on the black market as they are sold after checking the NIDs of customers, the Rail Minister Nurul Islam Sujan had claimed earlier. Now a Shohoz staff member has been arrested for the misdeed.

Although the RAB referred to Rezaul Karim a system engineer, Farhat Ahmed, public relations manager of Shohoz-Synesis-Vincen JV, said he was appointed as station support staff.

Rezaul worked as a support member in the sales of Bangladesh Railway for the past few years. Shohoz-Synesis-Vincen JV appointed him on Mar 21, he said.

“Shohoz-Synesis-Vincen JV strongly condemn the incident and have already suspended the accused. It will opt for stricter measures if such an incident is repeated in the future,” Farhat Ahmed said.