Rajdhani robbery: Man targeted sleeping train passengers

“He would disguise himself as a passenger with a confirmed ticket. He would throw light on the eyes of passengers sleeping in the train between 1.30 am and 3 am considering that it is the time when people are usually fast sleep. If someone woke up in the middle of this, he would calmly tell them that he was just checking the seat numbers,” said Inspector Rajiv Kharab, Kota, RPF.

Officials said it was this particular act of the accused, stated by multiple victims that drew the RPF and GRP officials to chase him. The investigation led them to a booking agent in Delhi through whom Singh had booked multiple return tickets in many trains, sometimes with his wife. Kharab said while Singh had conducted multiple thefts on Rajdhani trains since August this year, previous records said he had stolen possessions of passengers on the Delhi-Jammu route in 2015. Several cases of cheating, theft and looting people in areas like Punjab, Jaipur, Nagpur, Mathura, Surat and Kota are registered against him under Sections 420, 379 and 411 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

“He tried to rob passengers again on the Rajdhani train on September 29 but due to the presence of police officers in the train, he could not. When we nabbed him he told us he derives pleasure from robberies. As robbing is like a job for him. He will continue to do so,” Kharab added. A Ratlam court has remanded him in police custody for 10 days. “We suspect the involvement of a gang in the case. We are trying to recover the money he stole,” a senior GRP official from Ratlam division said. Singh has been booked for theft on Rajdhani trains, under Section 380 of the IPC. He has married twice and hails from Amritsar. Singh’s father who runs a hotel business had been worried about his mischief, RPF officials said.