NewsBytes
    Hindi Tamil Telugu
    More
    In the news
    Narendra Modi
    Amit Shah
    Box Office Collection
    Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
    OTT releases
    Hindi Tamil Telugu
    NewsBytes
    User Placeholder

    Hi,

    Logout

    India
    Business
    World
    Politics
    Sports
    Technology
    Entertainment
    Auto
    Lifestyle
    Inspirational
    Career
    Bengaluru
    Delhi
    Mumbai

    Download Android App

    Follow us on
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    Home / News / India News / IITian, arrested for 'Tatkal' booking app, wants to help IRCTC
    Next Article
    IITian, arrested for 'Tatkal' booking app, wants to help IRCTC

    IITian, arrested for 'Tatkal' booking app, wants to help IRCTC

    By Siddhant Pandey
    Nov 20, 2020
    12:58 am

    What's the story

    Earlier last month, the Railway Police Force had arrested a software developer from his home in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu, for creating two railway ticketing applications.

    S. Yuvarajaa, 32, had developed Super Tatkal and Super Tatkal Pro which allow fast booking compared to the infamously inconvenient Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation website.

    Yuvarajaa now says that he wants to help make the website better.

    Arrest

    Yuvarajaa arrested for 'unauthorized business of procuring/supplying railway tickets'

    Yuvarajaa, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, was arrested on October 23 from his Tirupur home.

    He was arrested under the Indian Railways Act 1989 for the "unauthorized business of procuring and supplying railway tickets."

    Yuvarajaa spent about a week in jail and railway authorities also deactivated the two apps, which were available on Google Play.

    Quote

    'I would like to help them make their website better'

    Yuvarajaa told HuffPost, "I want them to talk to me and find out how the apps can help IRCTC's ticket-booking operations."

    "I might have been naive and unaware of consequences when I developed the apps but I had the best of intentions," he said, "I would like to help them make their website better so that end-users, the passengers, can book tickets easily."

    Backstory

    Yuvarajaa picked up coding early; graduated from MIT-Chennai, IIT-Kgp

    Reportedly, Yuvarajaa hails from a family of farmers. His father worked as a farmer till 2008 when he died while his mother still cultivates the family's land.

    He first started programming in BASIC at age 11 and developed a love for coding.

    He enrolled for an aeronautical engineering course at the Madras Institute of Technology in 2007 and joined IIT-Kharagpur for his Masters.

    Apps

    After using IRCTC, he decided to launch Super Tatkal

    Thereupon, Yuvarajaa worked in Bengaluru, shuttling between the "Silicon Valley of India" and his hometown.

    It was then that he realized the IRCTC was terribly slow.

    He launched Super Tatkal in 2016, which allowed users to pre-fill their journey details and paste these onto the IRCTC website.

    The app was free for the first year and later introduced in-app purchases.

    Apps

    Railway Police says Yuvarajaa earned Rs. 20 lakh through apps

    According to the Railway Police, Yuvarajaa earned roughly Rs. 20 lakh through the apps between 2016 and 2020.

    Yuvarajaa told HuffPost that his users were aware of the payment model and that he did not cheat anyone.

    In 2019, he launched Super Tatkal Pro, which allowed booking on IRCTC's rail connect app.

    The IRCTC said that the apps were used illegally to book tickets.

    Twitter Post

    Here's what the IRCTC said

    The software developed was used illegally to book tkts through the tickets denying genuine users.Use of illegal software is prohibited under Rly act. No faster app as these features were available with IRCTC which were disabled to ensure level playing field .

    — IRCTC (@IRCTCofficial) November 17, 2020

    Issues

    He didn't obtain required permissions from IRCTC: Official

    An RPF official told HuffPost that Yuvarajaa's mistake was that he "did not obtain the needed permission from IRCTC."

    Those who help passengers to book tickets are required to register with the IRCTC as an agent.

    Yuvarajaa said he "was not aware that the app would be considered illegal," arguing that the IRCTC could have sent him a warning or a cease-and-desist order.

    Facebook
    Whatsapp
    Twitter
    Linkedin
    Related News
    Latest
    Tamil Nadu
    Railway Police
    Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation

    Latest

    'Bhool Chuk Maaf,' 'Kapkapiii': Movies hitting theaters this Friday Amit Sadh
    Italian villa, Hyderabad mansion: Inside Prabhas's luxurious ₹124cr real-estate empire Baahubali
    You can now 'try on' clothes in Google search Google
    Google rolls out an AI tool for creating videos Google

    Tamil Nadu

    Coronavirus: India's tally reaches 4.91 lakh after another record spike India
    Tamil Nadu: Father, son die in police custody, outrage follows Rahul Gandhi
    Coronavirus: India's tally reaches 5.29 lakh after record spike India
    Coronavirus: India's tally nears 5.5L; Bengal, Karnataka see record spikes India

    Railway Police

    Mumbai: Man masturbates at woman, official laughs off complaint Mumbai
    Mumbai: Railway Police to launch special helpline for reporting crime Mumbai
    Kolkata: Men harass mother-daughter on train; force them to jump-off Kolkata
    Bhopal: Man kicks stranger out of train for no reason Bhopal

    Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation

    Indian Railways: Your refund-claim might get rejected in these cases India
    IRCTC app: How to get food delivered in trains Indian Railways
    2 held for travelling in train on fake disability certificate Maharashtra
    Indian Railways: Here's how you can place journey-related complaints on-the-go Indian Railways
    Indian Premier League (IPL) Celebrity Hollywood Bollywood UEFA Champions League Tennis Football Smartphones Cryptocurrency Upcoming Movies Premier League Cricket News Latest automobiles Latest Cars Upcoming Cars Latest Bikes Upcoming Tablets
    About Us Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions Contact Us Ethical Conduct Grievance Redressal News News Archive Topics Archive Download DevBytes Find Cricket Statistics
    Follow us on
    Facebook Twitter Linkedin
    All rights reserved © NewsBytes 2025