Gang stealing wheat bags from trains busted, 7 held

Ludhiana: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) on Friday claimed to have busted a gang of thieves with the arrest of seven after conducting raids at several localities near railway yards and sub-stations where goods wagons are stationed.All seven accused were involved in two cases of stealing wheat bags in the past some days when the railways increased the number of goods trains for generating more revenue.The station master and the train guard had complained to the RPF about the thefts that were undertaken after breaking the seals of goods trains when they arrived at the sub-stations of Phillaur and Ladhowal during late night hours. Ludhiana RPF inspector Anil Kumar said, “After receiving complaints, a special investigation team was formed and they started conducting raids in localities near railway tracks in Phillaur and Ladhowal and arrested seven accused. They have been identified as Satnam Singh, Ravi Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Mandeep, Pawan Kumar, Vijay Kumar and Ritik. All seven are residents of Ladhowal. Police have recovered 31 wheat bags (one quintal each) worth more than Rs 50,000 from their houses.”He said, “Police learnt that the accused were into alcoholism and gambling and their incomes had dropped due to the pandemic, so they resorted to stealing. At the time of arrest, they were hatching a conspiracy to steal more than 50 bags of wheat along with pulses and sell it in the wholesale market.” He said, “Kingpin of the gang Vijay Kumar led his accomplices after learning that there was no security when trains arrived at Ladhowal and Phillaur sub-stations following the maintenance work at late night hours. Accused Pawan Kumar entered the wagons of two goods trains after breaking their seals and threw out wheat bags when the locomotives were about to leave the station. While his gang members were working, Vijay kept an eye on the guard and security personnel.”Ludhiana railway station director Tarun Kumar said, “We received several complaints from railway guard and station master about wheat bags getting stolen at night hours. A large number of good trains are running these days to carry essential items across the country and the railways is focusing on increasing revenue by running more goods trains. In the past few days, we have conducted meetings with RPF officials to know about the cause behind the burglaries and after which a team was constituted and raids conducted.”