Major parcel scam unearthed at Chennai Central

The scam was going on for at least two decades

The scam cannot happen without RPF involvement!

‘Mafia Union’ allegedly tried to destroy evidence of the scam

Chennai: A major racket involving the parcel office at Chennai Central Railway Station has emerged with only a fraction of costly cargo booked on trains making it to the destination. The rest, it has been found, is smuggled out in collusion with railway employees to be sold in the black market and bills forged to show the entire consignment has been offloaded at the destination station.

The scam came to light when five employees led by an office-bearer of Southern Railway Mazdoor Union (SRMU), the solely recognized union in the Southern Railway Zone, allegedly tried to destroy evidence of the scam at the station on Tuesday, 13th November and were later suspended. A copy of the suspension order naming D. Yuvaraj, the office-bearer of SRMU, A. Karuppuswamy, Anthony D’cruz, Thiyagarajan and Khadar Basha is with this newspaper.

Sources in Southern Railway said, four days ago a consignee discovered that only 19 of 30 cartons of vests (baniyans) had been transported to Howrah by Coromandel Express. Each of the cartons, sent from the garment-manufacturing hub of Tirupur, contained material worth one lakh. However, employees in the parcel office at Chennai Central station had managed to get a bill from the Howrah station to show that all 30 cartons had been unloaded, top sources said.

A complaint was lodged and a Chief Commercial Inspector (CCI) on Tuesday conducted an inspection and secured the 11 cartons lying on a platform at Chennai Central. Yuvaraj and the others came to know of this, went up to the CCI and forcefully tried to take away the 11 cartons which formed part of the evidence into the scam, a senior official of the Chennai division told this newspaper. A tussle broke out and a complaint was registered with the Railway Protection Force (RPF), which is the guardian of railway parcels, he added.

This issue was raised with the Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (SrDCM), Chennai Division who immediately suspended the five employees, the official said.

Dakshin Railway Employees Union (DREU) working president A. Janakiraman said the parcels that were ‘held back’ at the station were later sold in the black market. “The 11 cartons were worth 11 lakh. The railways should conduct a thorough probe into the malpractices,” Janakiraman said.

A senior Southern Railway headquarters official said “the issue showed how the parcel business was compromised. There are widespread malpractices. We are awaiting a report.”

SRMU divisional secretary Paul Maxwell said he was not aware of the issue and declined to comment. Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Chennai Division Naveen Gulati did not respond to calls.

Parcel scam accused to go on sick leave, the case gets curious

The parcel scam uncovered at the Chennai Central station last week in delivery of 30 cartons of vests from Chennai to Howrah, for which five SRMU men were suspended on November 13, has gotten more curious. While the 11 missing parcels are yet to be traced despite a complaint filed with the RPF, the five suspended parcel employees have reported sick. A senior official said all five submitted medical notes signed by the same doctor from Perambur railway hospital. This ‘karishma’ happened in the direction of ‘Mafia Union’ leader, said a reliable source at railway hospital Perambur.

This has prompted discussions among railway employees that the case would be watered down as it involves office-bearers of ‘Mafia Union’, the sole recognized employees union. A senior railway official said a detailed inquiry into various malpractices at the parcel office has started.

The officials conducting inquiry are facing threats from Mafia Union

“The supervisors and officers conducting the inquiry are under severe pressure and are facing personal threats,” the officer said, requesting anonymity. He said the scam was going on for at least two decades.

The suspension of the five employees was revoked and they were slapped with a major penalty charge-sheet; if the charges are proven, they can lose their jobs.

Railway employees D. Yuvaraj, branch secretary of SRMU, A Karuppuswamy, Anthony D’cruz, Thiyagarajan and Khadar Basha forcefully tried to take away the 11 cartons, an official said.

A rival union Rail Mazdoor Union (RMU) General Secretary K. Nandakumar said, many officials were trying hard to dilute the case. “That the suspended employees fell sick reeks of collusion,” he said.

Southern Railway Employees Sangh (SRES) General Secretary P. S. Suryaprakasam said he had flagged this issue a decade ago to the Railway Board, but no tangible action was taken.

DRM/Chennai Naveen Gulati told that they would ensure the investigation was fair and unbiased. “We will also check if the parcels were legitimate or not,” he said. SRMU General Secretary N. Kanniah did not respond to calls.

Inter-division transfer recommended for SRMU staff involved in scam

The Commercial Department of Southern Railway has recommended an inter-divisional transfer of the five railway employees who are suspected to be involved in a scam at the parcel office at Chennai Central Station last week.

In a letter on November 16, the Sr.DCM has written to the Senior Divisional Personnel Officer (Sr.DPO) stating that the employees were involved in serious irregularities at the parcel office and that they should be transferred out of Chennai Division to conduct an inquiry in a fair manner.

“This is to avoid any interference by these employees in the inquiry which has been ordered,” said a senior official, requesting anonymity. It is a standard procedure when a staff is under investigation for a serious irregularity. Other than Chennai, Southern Railway has five divisions namely Tiruchirapalli, Salem, Madurai, Palghat, and Tiruvanantpurum.

The staff suspected to be involved are D. Yuvaraj, A. Karupuswamy, S. Anthony D’cruz, H. Khader Basha, and C. Thiyagarajan. Yuvaraj is the branch secretary of SRMU. They reported sick for duty after being transferred inter-division. They are alleged to have forcefully taken away the parcels secured by the CCI on November 13. The parcels are still missing and no case has been registered despite a complaint with RPF.

DRM/Chennai Naveen Gulati on Tuesday told that it was an administrative issue. The transfer will have to decide by the Southern Railway headquarters. General Manager R. K. Kulshreshtha did not respond to calls.

A. Janakiraman, working president of Dakshin Railway Employees Union (DREU), a rival union told that there was immense pressure on railway officers to settle the case, as the union elections were coming up in a few months. “Inter-divisional transfer is a standard procedure, but we don’t know if it will be executed,” he said.

This time, SRMU General secretary N. Kanniah told that there was no scam and that there was a three-day delay from when the parcels were booked and the employees suspended. “What was the railway administration doing for three days,” he said.

Meanwhile, an association of parcel agents has written to the DRM alleging corruption against a few parcel supervisors at Chennai Central. The letter was forwarded by ADRM K. Manoj to the DRM with an endorsement, a few days ago. Incidentally, the supervisors named are those who flagged the issue of 11 missing parcels. Janakiraman said that this was part of a plan to take some action against the whistle-blowers of the parcel scam.

PCSC/RPF asks for reports on parcel scam

Principal Chief Security Commissioner, Southern Railway Birendra Kumar, who heads the RPF in the Zone, has asked for detailed reports on the parcel scam uncovered at Chennai Central last week. He also instructed officials in other divisions in the Zone to find out the occurrence of similar issues, if any.

A senior official said PCSC/RPF Birendra Kumar asked the RPF’s special investigation branch (SIB) to conduct an inquiry into the issue. “An instruction has also been given to the Senior Divisional Security Commissioner (Sr.DSC), Chennai Division to register a case,” said the official, who is not authorized to speak to the media on record.

The railway administration has not yet found out the whereabouts of the parcel. But the RPF official said that “there are two possibilities; it could have been moved out of the parcel office through the Walltax Road exit or re-booked on a train.”

The RPF, which is tasked with security of railway property, is responsible for giving a gate pass when parcels are moved out of the parcel office. The RPF personnel are empowered to check if anyone is carrying more parcels than booked or if any unauthorized people have entered the area.

“There is very much possibility of involvement of RPF personnel too”, said a reliable source. “This scam cannot happen without RPF involvement”, sources said.

Officials also don’t have an answer when asked if there was any CCTV camera footage capturing the scuffle between the parcel office employees. “There is no CCTV coverage over the parcel office. But there is a CCTV camera which could have recorded the movement of employees towards the office or re-booking of parcels,” said another senior official from Chennai Division.

DRM/Chennai Naveen Gulati told that the probe ordered would be comprehensive which would use all the available resources.

Courtesy: TOI