Robbers spray poisonous gas on train; take away cash, luggage
Panic first gripped passengers at a station in MP when rumour spread that a bomb was in the coach. Poisonous gas was then sprayed. When I woke up, we had reached Delhi and my luggage and cash were missing. SUNITA MALIK, who travelled from Pune to Ludhiana
When we reached Delhi, we asked for help from police, but they didn’t take us seriously. Then I tweeted to @RailMinIndia about the incident. After that, an FIR was lodged at the Ambala railway station. NAMRATA PRIYADARSHNI, came from Pune for Mukerian
: Unidentified persons robbed passengers of cash and belongings purportedly worth lakhs of rupees on Friday after spraying a poisonous gas in two coaches of Jhelum Express (11077) going from Pune to Jammu.
The passengers shared horror tales of their journey at the Ludhiana railway station on Friday.
Passengers alleged that the incident happened between 4am and 7am when someone sprayed a poisonous gas in the coach, following which they lost their consciousness. They found their luggage missing when they regained their senses.
FIRST THE HOAX
Sunita Malik, who travelled from Pune to Ludhiana in A1 coach, said that earlier panic gripped the passengers at Ganj Basoda station in Madhya Pardesh, when a rumour was spread by some mischievous people that a bomb has been planted in the coach. Later, the poisonous gas was sprayed in the coach.
“When I woke up, we had reached Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station in Delhi. I was suffering from headache and found my luggage and cash missing,” she said. It was later found that at least five families travelling in A1 and B5 coaches of the train were robbed.
DELHI POLICE ‘APATHY’
Namrata Priyadarshni, who was travelling from Pune to Mukerian, “When we reached Delhi, we asked for help from the Delhi Police, but they didn’t take us seriously. Then I tweeted to @RailMinIndia about the incident, seeking help from them. After that an FIR was lodged at the Ambala railway station.”
Passengers said there was no guard on board the train and there was no police officer present in the coaches. “A1 and B5 coach were both AC coaches, but there was no security for passengers,” they added.
They urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure security to train passengers, rather than concentrating on the bullet train project. “Will the Prime Minister ensure that we get our luggage other belongings back?” they asked.
Meanwhile, Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel recorded the statements of passengers at Ludhiana and said that they will send a report to their Delhi headquarters so that the matter could be investigated further.