# Railway minister: 13,580 touts, 65 staff arrested in Tatkal crackdown 2026-08-12T21:06:26+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Between 2023 and June 2026, 13,580 touts and 65 railway employees were arrested for unauthorised Tatkal ticket sales, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The figures came in a written reply to a question from MP Patel Umeshbhai Babubhai, India TV News reports. The arrests target a suspected nexus of staff and touts misusing the reservation system. The statement did not specify if any convictions have followed. Vaishnaw's disclosure covers three and a half years of enforcement. It follows persistent complaints that Tatkal tickets are diverted by touts using illegal software and insider help. The minister did not provide details of the specific offences or the number of cases filed. ## Coverage - indiatvnews.com Tags: Ashwini Vaishnaw, Indian Railways, Lok Sabha, railway touts, Tatkal tickets, ticket reservation misuse Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/railway-minister-13580-touts-65-staff-arrested-in-tatkal-crackdown/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/railway-minister-13580-touts-65-staff-arrested-in-tatkal-crackdown/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.