A failed attempt to rob a railway signal box near the Hindon river lead to disruption in train services in Ghaziabad, the police said. While the police initially believed the signal box had malfunctioned, senior police officers confirmed that an attempt had been made to steal metal from the signal box. The police said an FIR had been lodged. The theft attempt took place on Sunday evening. “The signal box had stopped working and signals had to be given to the trains manually, which led to disruption in services. It seems that the thieves wanted to steal the metal in the signal box. We have seen similar attempts in the past with thieves stealing anything for metal — even manhole covers,” a senior police officer said. While the police said that train services weren’t suspended, they admitted that the delays in Ghaziabad would have a ripple effect. “The Ghaziabad railway station is important for connectivity between Delhi, New Delhi, Meerut, Kanpur and Moradabad,” the officer said. The police said that movement of almost 50 trains were affected after the incident. As a result, many commuters had to spend the night at the Ghaziabad railway station. “It was very cold on Sunday night and there were no arrangements for people. The waiting room was completely full and most people had to spend the night on the platform,” Sachin Sharma, a resident of Saharanpur who had come to Ghaziabad over the weekend, said. Woman held at railway station for jewellery theft Railway police on Monday arrested a 21-year-old woman who had allegedly stolen a passenger’s purse with jewellery and cash worth Rs 5 lakh. The arrest was made after police analysed CCTV camera footage. On December 24, police got a call, with one Gaurav Kumar reporting that his sister Sushma Munda — travelling aboard the Mumbai-bound Rajdhani to Surat — had lost her purse. “The purse contained a diamond bracelet, a diamond locket, a gold chain, watch and Rs 5,000,” a senior police officer said. Police registered an FIR and began investigation. They went through CCTV footage and found a woman behaving suspiciously. Police questioned coolies, vendors, shopkeepers and several others working at New Delhi railway station. They traced the accused, Anju alias Anjali at her house near Clock Tower in Subzi Mandi area. She was arrested and the valuables were recovered, police said. Police said Anju has been involved in many cases of theft. She has a 10-month-old daughter whom she carries with her to elicit sympathy, police said.
