3 Rly cops awarded for foiling train heist

MUMBAI, SEPT 15: Ajay Chakole was not on duty when he was travelling by the Vidarbha Express on August 29 to report for election work at ...

MUMBAI, SEPT 15: Ajay Chakole was not on duty when he was travelling by the Vidarbha Express on August 29 to report for election work at Nagpur. But when a woman from the adjoining compartment rushed to him for help he didn8217;t hesitate. Three men armed with knives were threatening passengers and snatching away their bags and valuables.

Though I was in uniform, I was unarmed since I was not on duty on the train. But I was confident of overpowering the three,8217; says Chakole 28, a railway constable stationed at Manmad and a black-belt in karate. For 15 minutes he fought with the intruders, without any help from the passengers. Finally, one of them escaped while the others were overpowered and arrested.

Chakole, who learnt karate without a coach and participated in a competition in Malaysia recently, was honoured for his act of bravery along with two other constables by Special IG, Government Railway Police, S Chakravarty on Wednesday. All the three got cash awards of Rs 5,000 each.

Chakravarty, who hastaken the initiative to honour the railway policemen publicly, says their bravery and hard work is usually not projected the way it should be.

The two other constables, Khushal Vikram Shendge and Manik Laxmanrao Bijwe, were on night patrol on the Kanyakumari-Jammu Tawi Navyug Express on September 1 this year when the train slowed down between Sevagram and Ballarshah stations.

This area is notorious for thefts so we had gone around telling passengers beforehand to be alert and take care of their baggage. Around 3.30 a.m., when the train was running at a speed of 30 km per hour both of us looked out of the doors for anything suspicious since criminals use this opportunity to jump out,8217; say Shendge and Bijwe.

It was then that they saw a man jumping out from another compartment. The two constables followed suit and chased the man for almost 300 metres before nabbing him. The man had been planning to rob the passengers but did not get a chance to do so after we warned them. However, he confessed that hehad carried out thefts on trains earlier. When we raided his house we found five stolen suitcases, one airbag, a walkman and a camera,8217; they add. Some of the items were those the Railway Police had been searching for in connection with three old cases.

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While Shendge is a sportsman too, having won the second prize at the inter-district marathon race in Nashik in 8217;89, Bijwe loves to play kabaddi. All three constables feel that policemen should be trained and encouraged to participate in sports. It not only prepares you to physically deal with armed criminals but also keeps you confident and alert,8217; they say.