Alert youngster captures train robbers on mobile

HYDERABAD: On the night of June 7, when a group of 20 people attempted to commit robbery in the Mumbai-bound Udyan Express train, a youngster happened to be standing near the door of one of the coaches. When the train suddenly came to a halt, he peeped outside only to see a man standing on the shoulders of another and trying to snatch the gold chain of a sleeping passenger through the window grills.The quick-thinking youngster took out his mobile phone and snapped a few pictures of the two offenders. He gave them to the railway police later when they arrived on the scene, thus helping them to identify the robbers, who are yet to be caught. The railway police are now hunting for the accused, armed with the photograph clicked by the youngster whose name has been withheld. He would, however, be rewarded soon by the railway police. On the night of the robbery, the offenders stopped the train by operating the vacuum disc. Soon, about seven of them pelted stones and attempted to steal jewellery from women.“This is the usual modus operandi of the robbers. One person stands on another’s shoulder and target sleeping women,” a railway official said. Robbers also resort to pulling the chain or cutting the hosepipe outside the AC bogie which automatically stops the train. There were a series of such incidents last year but the police could not manage to lay their hands on the gangs.“After a series of such incidents, we are providing armed escort comprising the government railway police and the railway protection force on all night trains,” the official added. Interestingly, the railway police has also come up with a novel idea to alert passengers whenever there is chain pulling. “Train drivers have been asked to sound a special type of horn if a chain has been pulled. This would be a signal to the escort party and also alert passengers,” he said. Meanwhile, S Syamsundar, superintendent of police, government railway police, Secunderabad, has requested the public to provide information regarding the two offenders in the photograph on -- 94406-27668, 94406-27667, 94406-27263 and 040-277070165 or 08552-229712. He added that a reward of Rs 10,000 will be given to anyone providing information on the offenders.