The Article 88 route had similar stages and timelines as ARI.
I did see the timeline you posted from the South Asian forum and frankly, while the post does exist, it’s very hard to believe. I have been monitoring that same forum off and on until early this year, and have personally spoken to many people who have got their TRCs in this manner. The typical timelines are like these. I just ran a search for posts with “card received” in 2024 and here is a sample:
Anyway that route is closed now so it’s a moot point. The tourist entry (and illegal entry) getting converted to TRC via Article 88 has been closed as of a few months ago.