BENGALURU: A seven-member gang operating from inside Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) Station by posing as railway officials was caught red-handed earlier this week by a special Anti-Robbery unit of the Railway Protection Force (RPF).
They were disguised as passengers. Fifteen mobile phones, foreign currency and an unknown amount of cash were recovered from them. The group, which had been indulging in these impersonation activities for the past few months, used to conduct recces at different spots at the station late at night before carrying out their plans in broad daylight, said a top official.
Posing as officials, members of the group would strike up a conversation with passengers travelling alone, he said. The unit had been on the look out for the gang for some time. “In the latest incident, which resulted in them being caught, a member of the group told a passenger that he was carrying a lot of money inside his bags, which was not permitted inside trains. The passenger was actually one of our cops,” the official said.
Promising assistance in sorting out the issue, the fake official took him aside to talk. “The miscreant was immediately nabbed with assistance cops from the Anti-Robbery unit,” the official said, adding, “All seven were nabbed from the circulating area as well as outer areas of the station. When searched, they had 15 mobile phones, foreign currency and cash on them. They have all been produced in court now.” Following the incident, no passenger has been permitted to sleep or stay in the circulating area of the station at night, he said.
The Anti-Robbery unit was constituted five months ago, with safeguarding of belongings of passengers as its main focus. “As of date, 18 cases have been solved by them - 33 habitual robbers have been committed inside the station. Items worth Rs 1 crore have been recovered so far, including many gold items, as well as diamonds worth Rs 30 lakh,” said a senior official of the unit.