Howrah police nab 2 fake TTEs duping travellers at station | Watch

Howrah City Police have arrested two members of a Muzaffarpur-based gang accused of targeting out-of-state passengers at Howrah and Shalimar stations by posing as helpers linked to Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs). The accused, Mithilesh Kumar and Sonu Kumar Mahato, both residents of Muzaffarpur in Bihar, were apprehended from beneath Bankim Setu near Howrah Maidan on Wednesday night after a brief chase. Three other suspects managed to flee.

Complaints had been filed at multiple police stations about individuals wearing TTE-like uniforms and extorting money outside Howrah Station in the name of ticket checking. Acting on these inputs, police began scanning CCTV footage and intensified surveillance. Officers from Howrah Police Station grew suspicious of five men loitering under Bankim Setu; when approached, the group tried to escape, leading to the arrests.

According to investigators, the gang befriended passengers arriving from states such as Bihar by claiming to be from the same hometown. They allegedly offered to keep cash, gold ornaments and other valuables “safe,” citing a relative or friend working as a TTE. Victims were then taken to areas around Shalimar station or Howrah Maidan, shown a fake TTE office, issued bogus receipts and relieved of their belongings before the accused vanished.

Police said several complaints about this modus operandi have surfaced since last year. Two other members of the same gang were arrested earlier from Muzaffarpur. Investigators are now probing the wider network and tracking the remaining suspects believed to be involved in the racket.