Railway tickets vanish from Sylhet-Dhaka-Chattogram routes as court orders PBI probe

Railway tickets for the Sylhet-Dhaka and Sylhet-Chattogram routes are reportedly disappearing from online platforms within minutes of being released, leaving many passengers unable to secure tickets despite logging in on the scheduled date, 10 days before their journey.

The issue has long frustrated passengers in Sylhet. Taking note of the complaints, Senior Judicial Magistrate Abdullah Al Noman of Sylhet’s Amli-11 Court filed a case suo motu on September 22.

On October 1, the court directed the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to investigate the matter. PBI Sub-Inspector Abdul Ahad was assigned to conduct the investigation.

Confirming the development on Wednesday, Ahad said he had already begun the investigation.

“I have already started the investigation. We are working with all the data. A huge syndicate appears to be involved. We are trying to investigate the matter from its roots and submit our findings to the court,” he said.

Several intercity trains operate on the two routes. They include Upaban, Kalni, Jayantika and Parabat Express on the Sylhet-Dhaka route, and Paharika and Udayan Express on the Sylhet-Chattogram route.

Passengers, like travellers elsewhere in Bangladesh, are required to purchase railway tickets online. However, many reportedly fail to secure tickets through the official platform and are subsequently forced to obtain them through other channels.

The court took note of reports that tickets were selling out within minutes of being released online. After examining the railway website, it found the unusually rapid disappearance of tickets suspicious.

According to the case proceedings, several groups may be purchasing large numbers of tickets immediately after they are released, allegedly with the assistance of people involved in ticket distribution, and later reselling them to passengers at inflated prices.

The court observed that such practices were causing harassment to ordinary passengers and could also undermine the development of the tourism industry in the region.

In the case filed on September 22, Magistrate Abdullah Al Noman said offences including ticket black-marketing and hoarding may have been committed.