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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 552
TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.07.2026
CLOSURE OF IRCTC ACCOUNTS IN BAREILLY DISTRICT
†552. SHRI NEERAJ MAURYA:
Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
(a) whether about 7,000 IRCTC user accounts have been closed down in
Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh due to non-linking with Aadhaar and if
so, the details thereof;
(b) the details of such IRCTC accounts closed down across the country
during the last thee years, State-wise;
(c) the extent to which fake ticket booking accounts and the accounts
operated by totus have been effectively checked after making Aadhaar
authentication mandatory and the details of improvement in the
availability of tickets to genuine passengers as a result thereof;
(d) the comparative data of online and counter ticket sales during the last
one year after enforcing strict measures in online ticket booking; and
(e) whether the Government proposes to deploy any other new technology,
surveillance/punitive mechanism to completely eliminate the network of
black-marketing of tickets?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND
ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)
(a) to (e): IRCTC has not deactivated any user account due to non-
linking of Aadhaar. IRCTC adopts broad parameters for identifying
suspicious user IDs on the basis of unusual mobile numbers, email
domains, IP Addresses, etc. During the period 01.01.2024 to 30.06.2026,
more than 6.68 crore user accounts were deactivated and more than
6.22 crore user accounts were put under temporary suspension with
option of revalidation.
§ Page 1 of 3The introduction of Aadhaar authentication has helped in preventing the
creation and operation of fake or unauthorized agent-controlled multiple
user accounts. This measure acts as an effective safeguard against
account multiplication and automated misuse, thereby ensuring fair
allocation of tickets. Aadhaar authentication has contributed to
improved ticket availability for genuine passengers by reducing unfair
booking practices and enhancing transparency in the online booking
system. Further, the following steps have also been taken by Indian
Railways to ensure that tickets are made available to the genuine users:
1) Systemic Measures (Content Delivery Network and Anti BOT):
a) To optimize system performance, Indian Railway has implemented
a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to offload static content and
reduce direct traffic on NGeT (Next Generation e-Ticketing)
website servers.
b) In addition, anti-BOT Technology has been deployed which helps in
mitigating malicious and suspicious attempts which on an average
is mitigated to the extent of 64%.
c) It helps in reducing malicious traffic and providing static content
reducing load on the system and thus enhancing the user
experience for genuine and verified users.
2) Administrative Measures:
Several anti-fraud measures have been adopted by Indian Railways to
prevent unauthorized access and to ensure seamless booking for
genuine users, which include :
a) Deactivation of more than 6 crore suspicious user IDs in the year
2024 to 2026 (Upto 30.06.2026).
Page 2 of 3b) 530 complaints have been lodged on the National Cyber Crime
Portal for 3.93 lakh suspicious PNRs.
c) About 6.22 crore suspicious user IDs have been put under
revalidation during the period 01.01.2024 to 30.06.2026.
e) 13,343 suspicious email domains have been blocked in the year
2025-26 & 2026-27 (till 30.06.2026).
f) Only Aadhaar Verified Users are allowed to book Tatkal tickets
and ARP (Advance Reservation Period) tickets.
The comparative data of online and counter ticket sales during the
last one year (from June 2025 to June 2026) after enforcement of
strict measures in online ticket booking is as under:
Online ticketing 57.90 Cr. 89%
Counter booking 07.18 Cr. 11%
Total 65.08 Cr. 100%
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