The arrested accused have been identified as Shatrunjay Rajkumar Yadav alias Anoop (34), the alleged kingpin Amrish Thakkar, and three others, the official said, adding more persons may be involved in the racket.

The alleged mastermind and four railway ticket brokers forged official Lok Bhavan, previously called Raj Bhavan, letterheads, fake seals, fabricated recommendation letters and used fake signatures of the governor's then personal assistant to secure confirmed 3AC railway tickets, which are part of the 'emergency quota' (EQ) reserved for exceptional cases, the official said.

"The fraud came to light after the office of the Central Railway Chief Commercial Manager forwarded two EQ recommendation letters to Lok Bhavan on February 6 for verification. Officials there confirmed the letters were not issued by the governor's office," he said.

A case of cheating, forgery and other offences was registered at Malabar Hill police station on the complaint of Lok Bhavan functionary Vishal Sudhir Shinde, who is responsible for coordinating the Governor's official travel routine and forwarding genuine EQ requests to the railways, he said.

Forged documents were allegedly used to book tickets on Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT)-Rajgir Express and Chapra Express, with mobile numbers mentioned in the recommendation letters also turning out to be fake, the official said.

"The five accused were held through technical surveillance and Call Detail Records (CDR). A probe is underway to find out if the racket extended to other railway routes and whether additional forged recommendation letters were used to obtain preferential railway reservations," the official added. (PTI)