ROURKELA: Railway Protection Force (RPF) rounded up three persons involved in a train robbery case and seized `2.23 crore here on Saturday. The three accused, Rajan Srivastava, Sanjay Gupta and Sunil Gupta from Ranchi, were forwarded to court by Government Railway Police (GRP) in Jharsuguda.
Superintendent of Railway Police (SRP), Rourkela A P Swain said the passenger, Sourav Bhargav, accompanied by his two employees, was travelling in Howrah-bound Porbandar Express on March 3. He was carrying cash worth `3.14 crore, only to find it to be stolen in the wee hours, near Jharsuguda station. He reported the matter to GRP at Howrah. A case was then registered at GRP station, Jharsuguda. A DSP was given charge of investigation.
Following the complaint, Rourkela RPF kept a close watch on Porbandar Express and based on tip-off and CCTV footage, they were able to trap the miscreants. “It is not clear as to why the complainant, Sourav Bhargav, was carrying such a huge amount of cash. Once he reaches Rourkela on Sunday, he too will assist in investigation,” said Swain.
According to RPF sources, the accused were active on Ranchi-Rourkela and Howrah-Mumbai routes. “We recovered 17 train tickets of AC II-Tier class. They used to change trains to target their victims in Second AC coaches,” they said.
Incidentally, the trio was also found to be involved in another theft case in January in Porbandar Express, in which a couple complained that cash and valuables worth `2.89 lakh were stolen from them near Rourkela.
Rs 13 lakh cash looted from ATM
Rayagada: Miscreants looted `13 lakh cash by breaking open the ATM machine at JK Pur under Chandili police limits here early on Saturday. Though the SBI ATM was located just 100-metre away from the police station, the miscreants managed to loot the cash. On being informed by locals, police, along with scientific team, rushed to the spot and started investigation into the case. CCTV footage is being verified to identify the miscreants, said police.