Kalyan TCs transferred for robbing diamonds

JUNE 15: A group of ticket collectors robbed 30 diamonds from a diamond merchant in Kalyan and it took nearly a month for the Central Railways to take action against the culprits.

Ten TCs were transferred from Kalyan on Saturday. They had robbed Pramod Soni, a resident of Bhayander, while he was returning from Lucknow by the Pushpak Express on May 18. Soni was forced to get down from the train on the pretext of checking his baggage at Kalyan station. On pretext of making enquiries senior TC AK Garg took Soni to the TC room ante-chamber and frisked. When they searched his luggage, they found the gemstones. According to Soni, "I did not raise an alarm immediately as they threatened to frame me in a false diamond smuggling case."

Soni quietly went home. Later, when he recounted his experience to family and friends they pressurised him to file a case. He lodged a formal complaint on May 26. It was only when the CR Vigilance Branch swung into action that the 10 TCs involved felt the heat. One of them went toSoni’s residence and returned the diamonds. The TCs’ names are: Anil Kumar Garg (Senior TC), S Gosavi, K P Rathod, M K Poddar, B S Prihar, V V Singai, M C Kulkarni, S V Ranadive, A J Kamble and D P Singh.