In a shocking case of drug-and-loot on train, about nine passengers were drugged and looted by a gang of criminals on Howrah-bound Geetanjali Express between Nagpur and Bilaspur in the wee hours of Monday.
Panic gripped the Tatanagar Railway Station as the train reached and the victims were taken to the Railway Hospital at Khasmahal from where they were rushed to MGM Medical College and Hospital.
Suman Mukherjee, one of the victims, was found lying unconscious as the train reached Tatanagar station at 8.30 am.
Those who have been drugged were identified as — Mrityunjay Mallik, Bubun Mera, Pius Sarkar, Tapas, Mohan, Hameed Mirza, Madhav, Suman Mukherjee and Rahul Dhulai — all belonging to the age-group of 22 to 25.
Except Mukherjee, all the others are residents of West Bengal. Hameed is a resident of West Midnapore. According to sources, the condition of Hameed, Mohan and Mrityunjay is still serious, whereas the rest of the passengers are said to be out of danger.
According to Suman Mukherjee, there were two youths who befriended with the passengers who have been duped.
“We all are in a state of shock and will never forget what has happened to us. After travelling from Mumbai as the train reached Nagpur around 8.30 pm on Sunday, we all started taking dinner. However, the two fellow passengers offered cold drink. As we had become very familiar with the two, one of whom had even given his cell number none even doubted in their offer and took the cold drink. Within 15 minutes of consuming the cold drink I went to sleep. When I regained sense I found myself on the hospital bed,” said Mukherjee, who is a resident of Sonari.
The two criminals have robbed cash and valuables worth over Rs2 lakh from the passengers.
The officer-in-charge, GRP, Tatanagar, Ashok Ram took the statements of some of the victim passengers by going over to the MGM Medical College and Hospital. The officer-in-charge said that the family members of those fallen ill have been informed and the railway police are trying to trace the criminals involved in the incident.
Notably, several such drug-and-loot gangs operate on the trains originating from Tatanagar and Howrah stations. These robbers travel on trains in the guise of passengers, even in reserved compartments, and befriend with co-passengers. After a point of time, they offer drugged sweats or biscuits and sometimes tea to their co-passengers, who lose their sense after consuming the food. As soon as the victims fall unconscious, the criminals decamp with the valuables and cash.
The gangs have now become active after a lull of a year. The police have no clue.