HYDERABAD: He gorges on almonds, cashews, red meat and follows rigorous daily work-outs in order to stay fit for his daily routine. He believes in doing his best to educate his children and does not spare any expense in this regard. This might sound like the Twitter or FB description of a model citizen. But, in fact, this is a lucid description of a notorious inter-state offender, Thanedar Singh Khushva. According to police records, Khushva has notched up an astonishing record of 400 offences on moving trains in three states - Telangana, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh since 2004. He was recently arrested by the Railway Police at Secunderabad.
Khushva maintained a healthy diet and exercised to ensure he remained fit to jump out of trains after he robbed passengers. As he was a poor student, Khushva wanted both his children to get good education. So, in addition to acquiring properties at Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh out of his “earnings” from train thefts, he also spent good money on their education. The police, who recovered cash and gold worth Rs 40 lakh from Khushva’s possession, are in the process of seeking custody for further investigation.
Khushva started his career selling snacks on trains, but turned a pick-pocket in 2004. After he met his associate Chandrakanth in 2006 at Vikarabad, he learnt to cut the inner pant pockets of passengers without them noticing. He could tell whether they were carrying cash and valuables worth stealing just by looking at their pockets. After boarding crowded compartments, Khushva would rob passengers and alight from the train, even when it was moving at a speed of 40 km per hour.
If police managed to notice an offence being committed by him or if an alarm was raised, Khushva could run for more than 10 km without stopping. To maintain this stamina, he would start his day with work-outs and dry fruits. Before his arrest, he resided in a flat in Chandanagar where he paid a rent of `30,000 per month. Arun, a close friend of Khushva’s, a registered junior artiste in Tollywood, managed to get him the flat on rent. While Kushva’s family knew he was into cricket betting, he told others that he was into films.