An Assam native, Rajakali, 45, was arrested for repeatedly stealing passengers’ bags and valuables on trains and at railway stations. Kochi : Railway protection force (RPF) and govt railway police arrested three people in connection with two cases.
The arrested are Murshid, 21, and Saidul Haq, 22. They were identified during the investigation into the theft of a bag from a sleeper coach of No 16188 Exp (Ernakulam South–Karaikkal) around 11pm on Friday, and another incident where they stole the bags of two women passengers sleeping on train No 16347 Thiruvananthapuram–Mangaluru Express around 2.30am on Saturday, then jumped off at Angamaly railway station and escaped. Acting on specific directions from Thiruvananthapuram RPF senior divisional security commissioner Mohammed Haneef and govt railway police S P Krishnakumar, the probe was carried out by a combined team from RPF crime intelligence wing, RPF in Aluva, and railway police in Ernakulam South. In another case, a joint team of RPF and govt railway police arrested two Assam natives who had been repeatedly stealing passengers’ mobile phones, valuable bags, and other belongings on trains and at railway stations. Their modus operandi is to target sleeping passengers at various stations between Aluva and Thrissur, pull away bags kept on seats, jump off the train, or get off at the next station. The investigation also found that they stole valuables such as mobile phones kept for charging.