Robbery in Rajdhani: 7 women lose purses
Burglars also made off with the handbag belonging to divisional railway manager’s daughter travelling in Delhi-bound train on Thursday night; high level probe ordered
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Saturday, July 14, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=2&contentid=201207142012071402473542570c18515)
Theft in trains is not news any more. But on Thursday night, thieves struck Swarnim Jayanti Rajdhani Express and made off with seven purses, including one that belonged to the daughter of Ahmedabad divisional railway manager.
Riddhi Behal, 22, and her mother were travelling by A1 coach to Delhi. The train departed from Ahmedabad at 5.45 pm and reached Jaipur at 2.45 am. Soon after the train left Jaipur, a female passenger exclaimed that she could not find her purse. The commotion woke up the other passengers who began checking their belongings. Six others, including Riddhi, failed to find their purses.
Ticket checkers and attendants searched the entire train, but found no one suspicious. Since they had already left Jaipur, the seven women submitted a written complaint to the Railway Protection Force in New Delhi.
Confirming the news, DRM Rakesh Behal said a high-level probe has been ordered into the matter.
Officials of passenger reservation centre at Ahmedabad on Friday went through Rajdhani’s reservation forms to check for suspicious passengers. They are operating on the premise that the gang is from/around Jaipur. “Most thefts are discovered as soon as the train leaves Jaipur. We suspect that the person gets on the train from Ahmedabad and travels to Jaipur where s/he gets down with the booty. Officials were scouring the list as only people with reservation can get on the train,” sources said.
Behal said, “Investigation has revealed that the thieves took jewellery and cash before discarding the bags. The gang knew that using a mobile phone or credit/debit card would enable the police to trace them. The phones belonging to the victims are still ringing. In fact, one of the purses was recovered from a villager in Shankargadh near Jaipur. He heard a phone ring and saw the handbag lying on the ground. As all the purses were stolen from women, we suspect the involvement of a female.”
Sources added, “Incidents of such thefts in Rajdhani Express has risen over the past 6-7 months. We have been keeping a watch for thieves and even caught a 22-year-old girl last month. She was wearing branded t-shirt and jeans and also carried a laptop. Nobody would have taken her for a thief. We nabbed her with five ladies purses and handed her over to the railway police in Jaipur.”
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Saturday, July 14, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?page=article§id=2&contentid=201207142012071402473542570c18515)
Theft in trains is not news any more. But on Thursday night, thieves struck Swarnim Jayanti Rajdhani Express and made off with seven purses, including one that belonged to the daughter of Ahmedabad divisional railway manager.
Riddhi Behal, 22, and her mother were travelling by A1 coach to Delhi. The train departed from Ahmedabad at 5.45 pm and reached Jaipur at 2.45 am. Soon after the train left Jaipur, a female passenger exclaimed that she could not find her purse. The commotion woke up the other passengers who began checking their belongings. Six others, including Riddhi, failed to find their purses.
Ticket checkers and attendants searched the entire train, but found no one suspicious. Since they had already left Jaipur, the seven women submitted a written complaint to the Railway Protection Force in New Delhi.
Confirming the news, DRM Rakesh Behal said a high-level probe has been ordered into the matter.
Officials of passenger reservation centre at Ahmedabad on Friday went through Rajdhani’s reservation forms to check for suspicious passengers. They are operating on the premise that the gang is from/around Jaipur. “Most thefts are discovered as soon as the train leaves Jaipur. We suspect that the person gets on the train from Ahmedabad and travels to Jaipur where s/he gets down with the booty. Officials were scouring the list as only people with reservation can get on the train,” sources said.
Behal said, “Investigation has revealed that the thieves took jewellery and cash before discarding the bags. The gang knew that using a mobile phone or credit/debit card would enable the police to trace them. The phones belonging to the victims are still ringing. In fact, one of the purses was recovered from a villager in Shankargadh near Jaipur. He heard a phone ring and saw the handbag lying on the ground. As all the purses were stolen from women, we suspect the involvement of a female.”
Sources added, “Incidents of such thefts in Rajdhani Express has risen over the past 6-7 months. We have been keeping a watch for thieves and even caught a 22-year-old girl last month. She was wearing branded t-shirt and jeans and also carried a laptop. Nobody would have taken her for a thief. We nabbed her with five ladies purses and handed her over to the railway police in Jaipur.”
