RPF nabs 3 mobile phone thieves with 17.28L loot within 4 hours

In an incident that seems to be taken from a storyline of a movie, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) caught and handed over three thieves on April 29, within four hours after they had robbed a mobile phone shop in Kerala and escaped. They were in Mumbai and boarding a northbound long-distance train from Panvel where the whole incident played out. They had stolen 28 mobile phones worth over Rs 17.28 lakh.

On Thursday, the RPF staff of Central Railway received a call about three thieves travelling in 02617 Ernakulam-Delhi after burgling a mobile phone shop in Kerala. “We were sent the photos and Aadhar card details of these suspects. We immediately formed teams hoping to catch them as the train was approaching Panvel station,” said a Central Railway official.

The RPF decided to closely check every seat in each coach. One of the team saw a man whose face was similar to their one that they had received on WhatsApp.

“We confronted Sachin Hooda (21). He agreed to have committed the theft along with two of his accomplices and were going to Delhi,” said a RPF officer. The culprit told the RPF staffs that one of his other accomplice got down at Atgaon station when the train slowed down.

“We realised that he had got down at Igatpuri and walking on some Main road. We immediately informed our colleagues from Igatpuri station and asked them to trace him,” said another CR official. After he was nabbed, the RPF arrested the third accomplice Suraj Sher Singh who had jumped from moving train at Atgaon. His location was traced to the jungle in the ghats of Kasara.