Heist on Rajdhani: 15 purses stolen

The incident took place on Delhi-Ahmedabad train on Thursday. Cash and valuables amounting to Rs 5 lakh were stolen between Jaipur and Ajmer

Yogesh Avasthi

Posted On Monday, October 22, 2012  (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/20121022201210220314486085ff1b084/Heist-on-Rajdhani-15-purses-stolen.html)

Known for its passenger service and speed, Rajdhani Express is fast gaining notoriety as an unsafe train to travel in. Three months after Mirror reported a series of thefts in Swarnajayanti Rajdhani Express, burglars struck the Ahmedabad- bound train again on Thursday night and made away with 15 handbags containing cash and valuables to the tune of Rs 5 lakh.
Five of the victims are women passengers from Ahmedabad. According to sources, several passengers who lost their bags have not registered the theft. The incident took place in A2, A3 and A4 compartments of the train. On Friday morning, when the train reached Ahmedabad, an announcement was made asking the victims to proceed to Government Railway Police (GRP) office to report the matter.
The announcement took passengers on the platform 1 by surprise since such incidents are rarely reported on trains like Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express. GRP inspector P P Pirozia said, “The thefts took place in A2, A3 and A4 compartments on Thursday night. Several women passengers lost their handbags.
On the basis of the complaints received, it is clear that the thefts took place between Jaipur and Ajmer. It is only after the train reached Ajmer that the passengers realised their purses and handbags were missing. The FIR forms filled by the ticket examiner have been handed over to Abu Road GRP.”
An army commander’s wife lost her handbag near Madar station. It was found by the guard who mans the railway crossing there. He told the cops that the bag contained credit card, cheque books, cellphone and keys but no cash. The bag has been handed over to Ajmer division, sources said.

THIEVES LOOKED FOR CASH AND JEWELLERY
“It seems that the burglars looked for only cash and gold ornaments,” said the inspector. Chandrashekhar Sharda and wife Rajshri, who were in the A4 compartment, went off to sleep around 1 am after having dinner. Around 2.30 am they were woken up by women screaming that their bags were missing.
When Rajshri looked for her purse she realised it had been stolen too. It contained Rs 30,000, gold chain, earrings, PAN card, credit card, keys and other items. She had kept the purse under the pillow before going off to sleep. The Shardas immediately reported the incident to the ticket examiner who filled the FIR form.
“But the TTE was nonchalant and showed no urgency to report the matter to the cops,” said Sharda. Victims Tarani Kanta Barman, a research scientist with a pharma company, and his wife Reema were travelling in the A2 compartment. They lost cash, earrings, two gold chains and cellphone amounting to Rs 1.25 lakh besides PAN, debit and credit cards.
Barman said, “We went off to sleep around 10.30 pm. The incident must have taken place between 12.30- 1.30 am. After other passengers created ruckus we realised our bag was stolen too. Mostly handbags were stolen. We are shocked that something like this can happen on Rajdhani Express.”
Senior Divisional Security Commissioner Sumati Shandilya said, “It is true that there are no RPF squads on Rajdhani trains. We have sent a proposal to western railway seeking deployment of the squad and are likely to get permission soon. However, the squad can only provide security till Palanpur since our limit ends there. There are four railway divisions enroute Ahmedabad-Delhi. Each division will have to put in a requisition to ensure the squads are on the train throughout the journey.”
Manoj Seth, DRM, Ajmer, said, “The inquiry into Thursday night’s burglary is being carried out by Abu Road GRP. This is a serious issue. We will be seeking permission of RPF squad between Ajmer and Palanpur to ensure such incidents do not happen.”
“Officials are scouring the list as only people with reservation can get on the train,” said a GRP cop on condition of anonymity. In July, the burglars struck Rajdhani and made off with seven purses, including one that belonged to the daughter of Ahmedabad divisional railway manager. At that time, too, the thefts took place after the train left Jaipur.