The Rani Kamlapati Government Railway Police (GRP) has arrested a five-member gang involved in stealing passengers’ belongings from AC coaches. Goods worth approximately Rs 3 lakh, stolen from the Narmada Express, have been recovered from the arrested individuals.
During initial questioning, the gang members admitted to stealing items worth around Rs 8 lakh from other trains. The GRP is now working to recover these additional stolen goods.
The arrested gang members, all residents of Bihar, used to book reservations in AC coaches and would steal passengers’ luggage during the night while they slept. They specifically targeted passengers whose belongings were left unattended or under the seats. One of the victims, Vivek Vishal (36), a resident of Rajendra Nagar, Indore, reported his luggage was stolen on December 19 last year while traveling from Jabalpur to Indore in the AC coach of the Narmada Express. He was accompanied by his wife Preeti and daughter Ankisha. They had placed four trolley bags and two general bags under their seats.
Around midnight, all three passengers fell asleep, and during this time, a youth seated in front of them kept looking at their bags. When the train reached Rani Kamlapati station around 6:15 a.m., the youth was missing, and Vivek discovered that two of his trolley bags were gone.
One of the stolen trolley bags contained valuable items, including gold jewelry worth around Rs 3.25 lakh, such as a gold mangalsutra, earrings, nose ring, pair of ear tops, maang tika, diamond-studded gold ring, silver anklet, toe ring, and Rs 5,000 in cash.