A luggage scanner installed at Kalyan railway station this year as part of the Integrated Security System (ISS) envisioned for major stations after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack enabled the Railway Protection Force (RPF) to foil a womans attempt to carry a country-made revolver and eight live cartridges in her steel trunk on Wednesday. This is the first such case reported at a major station this year. Mominaben Salim Farooq Shaikh (35),a resident of Bhiwandi,was subsequently arrested by the Government Railway Police at Kalyan under the Arms Act for carrying an unlicenced weapon. The weapon and cartridges were found in a tiffin carrier inside the steel trunk she was carrying,said police. Fourteen luggage scanners have been placed at CST,Dadar,Kalyan,Thane,Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Panvel. Shaikh was travelling with her three daughters and son to Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh on the Godan Express when she was caught near the ticket booking counter at platform 1 at 10.45 am,said Kalyan GRP. Based on random sampling,Shaikh was asked by RPF officials to pass her luggage through the X-ray scanner. Shaikh,according to police,denied knowledge of the revolver and the cartridges. She claimed to have left home in a fit of rage after a fight with her husband. Alok Bohra,senior Divisional Security Commissioner,RPF (Central Railway),said,The presence of a luggage scanner acts as a psychological deterrent for anyone trying to carry weapons. priyal.dave@expressindia.com
