A woman passenger and her daughter travelling in AC-II compartment of Patna Rajdhani on Tuesday were robbed off their valuables while they were sleeping on their berths. An FIR has been lodged in the matter and three people have been detained by the police for questioning. The victims alleged that had the matter been taken seriously the culprits could have been nabbed on board only.
“We were travelling from Patna to New Delhi. When the train reached Ghaziabad in the morning of August 2 (Wednesday) we noticed that cash amount of Rs 70,000, a diamond bracelet and two cheque books were missing from my mother’s purse. We contacted the train superintendent and security personnel but in vain. I informed my father over phone in Patna who instructed me to immediately tweet the incident to the Railway Ministry. But we could not get any help,” said Aprajita Khanna, a second year student of Delhi University.
The victim claimed that following a complaint on twitter they received a call from Railway Ministry, which said it could not do anything to catch the robbers “since the crime on railways was a State law and order subject”.
The passengers lodged the FIR after reaching New Delhi Railway Station following which Coach Attendant Sandeep Kumar and Catering waiters Shiv Prasad and Upendra were taken into custody. “They are being interrogated by the police. We may also contact by getting the co-passengers profiling," said a senior RPF official.
This is the second time a theft of this nature has happened in the Patna Rajdhani in recent months. “Time and again Rajdhani Passengers have complained about the security of passengers and quality of food served on the trains. But nothing is done,” said Aprajita’s mother, Seema Khanna.
“The bitter truth is that many of these incidents could have been averted had the Railways paid enough attention to security aspect of passengers on board. Indian Railways has monopoly in rail transportation, but that does not mean it can take passengers for granted,” Khanna added.