The men who counted trains at New Delhi Railway Station – and lost Rs 2.6 crore

A case was lodged last month by Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing on the complaint of an ex-serviceman, M Subbusamy.

"We were sceptical of the activity, but the accused was a good friend of our neighbour. I feel ashamed now; I lost more than Rs 12 lakh,” said Jagadeesh, a BA graduate from Madurai who was one of those duped. (Express file photo by Abhinav Saha)

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It was a simple job – stand at the New Delhi Railway Station for six-eight hours every day and count each and every train that passes through. And that’s exactly what a group of 10-odd men from Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar district did every day, for around 30 days, before realising the “job” they were doing – and one they had paid anywhere between Rs 2 lakh and 20 lakh to land – was fake.

“Since the pandemic, we have been suffering and looking for job opportunities to support our family. Last year, around December, I requested my father and my sister’s husband for money after our neighbour told us he had met a man named Vikas Rana, who works with the Northern Railways. We went to Delhi for training – all we had to do was count trains. We were sceptical of the activity, but the accused was a good friend of our neighbour. I feel ashamed now; I lost more than Rs 12 lakh,” said Jagadeesh (25), a BA graduate from Madurai who was one of those duped.

He, along with 24 others, were cheated of a total of Rs 2.6 crore by scammers on the pretext of a job at the railway station. A case was lodged last month by Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing on the complaint of an ex-serviceman, M Subbusamy (78). He told police he wanted to help the unemployed youth in the area, but ended up losing everyone’s money.

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He said, “I met a man named Sivaraman in Coimbatore, who said he knew all MPs and ministers. I had only asked three men in the area to apply for a TTE job, but others also came. We met Vikas Rana, who said he will look after training. They trusted me and sent the money. I would transfer the amount to Rana’s accounts. As soon as I came to know about the scam, I informed the police.”

“Rana would say he would give jobs as TTE, clerks, managers etc. I escorted them to Delhi and accompanied them. Rana and his associates would take us for fake medical examinations and registration. After the training, I called Rana but he didn’t take my calls.”

Senthil (25), another victim of the scam, said, “We were made to pay Rs 20 lakh. I was happy when I heard about the job this year. I asked my father to send me money and left Madurai. Some of us were told we would be employed as TTE or traffic assistants, and needed to know everything about the station. Everyone did the same training and counted trains for hours. I wondered why Rana wouldn’t take us inside trains or offices, but didn’t question him. We were never introduced to an officer. We stayed in small rooms nearby and paid for everything ourselves.”

Most of the men are BA and engineering graduates. Many, when contacted, refused to talk about Rana or what had transpired.

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Another victim, aged 24, said he borrowed money from a distant relative for the job. “I could only manage to pay Rs 3 lakh. We would sit on the platform for hours. There was nobody to look after us. Rana would come outside the station and take money. After April, I suspected something was wrong. We approached railway officers, who said the job training was fake and all appointment letters are forged. We were devastated and came back.”

Delhi Police said they have registered a case and are analysing call detail records, forged letters, transactions and CCTV footage to ascertain the identity of the gang members and arrest them.

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