MUMBAI: A software consultant from Varanasi who developed pirated software and sold it to railway touts who in turn hacked into the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation's (IRCTC) website and booked e-tickets before the online windows opened and sold them in black market was arrested by the Mumbai cyber cell police on Tuesday.
The accused, Sunil Sharma (34), a software consultant from Banaras in Varan was detained by the cyber cell police and will be brought to Mumbai. Police said Sharma will be booked for cheating, forgery, and breach of trust as well as under various sections of the Information Technology (IT) act.
Earlier in June, the cyber cell police had arrested Suraj Yadav and Kalpesh Shah, both 35 years of age, who are Mumbai based touts and who used who would hack into the IRCTC website, book tickets before the online window opens and sell them in the black market. An official said, "Yadav would open the website using illegal software, fill the form and keep it ready. As soon as the IRCTC opened bookings, he would be the first to submit the form and get tickets." Police had recovered two laptops from the duo. Yadav and Shah using which they used to hack and illegally book tickets.
During interrogations, Yadav and Shah revealed that it was Sharma who sold the software to them that was called Softvelly.com. In June the cyber cell police were on the lookout for Sharma. He went underground after news about Yadav and Shah was reported.
The modus operandi of Yadav and Shah was to hack into the IRCTC website few hours before the ticket window opened and book tickets more and sold it in black market. According to online booking one person could book only 10 tickets but touts booked 10 tickets per applications.
Police said the scam came to light after complaints from passengers and agents that they were unable to book tickets as the online booking site often showed that tickets were reserved or booked. "The IRCTC filed a complaint that there was something amiss. It was then that we found that somebody had hacked into the website," said a senior official.
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