In a case almost unheard of in Southern Railways, six men robbed passengers on the Chennai-Jaipur weekly express of mobile phones and gold, on Wednesday evening. The train was at Basin bridge when the robbery was carried out between 5.30 and 6.30 pm.
According to sources in the RPF, the thieves held passengers at knife-point and took their material possessions. They reportedly boarded an unreserved coach when the train slowed down at Basin Bridge and made away with cash, phones and jewellery. ToI reports that Rs10,000, a 30 sovereign gold chain and a few phones were taken away by the men before they escaped from the train
“However we have identified the men involved in the robbery,” says a source in the RPF. “There is CCTV footage of them alighting from the train and this is being used to track them down. We rarely see such cases in South India,” he adds.
The official added that while snatching of phones and wallets on trains has been reported in the past, there has been no recently reported case of armed men threatening passengers to part with their possessions.
Speaking to TNM, Director General of Police (GRP) Sylendra Babu, further added that, “The complaints were initially filed in Andhra Pradesh and then moved to a Chennai station. Two complainants have come forward regarding the mobile thefts. But we are yet to get complaints regarding gold chains or cash.”
He also told ToI that security has been tightened in the section where the train slows down near Basin bridge station and armed personnel have been posted. Three teams of police have reportedly been formed to nab the men involved in the crime.
Source: The News Minute