The Government Railway Police (GRP) said on Monday that they have solved six cases of theft aboard outstation trains by arresting a 25-year-old native of Karnataka.
The police said they recovered from the accused gold jewellery worth ₹2.13 lakh and four cell phones stolen from passengers.
GRP officers said the accused has been identified as Sharnappa Walekar, a history sheeter who robbed passengers and jumped off the train to evade arrest. He was caught after a case of theft was registered by Sheela Pillai (56), who was travelling from Karnataka to the city for cancer treatment.
Police Inspector S. Dhanwate, GRP Crime Branch, said: “The train had slowed down near Masjid railway station when the accused jumped on to the train and snatched Ms. Pillai’s purse. It contained gold jewellery worth ₹3.65 lakh and two cell phones. She registered a complaint with the GRP officers at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and we initiated inquiries into the matter.”
The police then scanned the footage of the CCTV cameras installed at Masjid station and identified the culprit. They showed his image to some informants who identified the accused as ‘Circuit’. The informants told the police that the accused was a native of Gulbarga in Karnataka. The GRP officers then contacted Gulbarga police and sent them the accused’s picture.
Resident of Gulbarga
Mr. Dhanwate said, “We learned that the accused stayed in Gulbarga with his mother and sister, but had left his house when the local police made enquiries. We tracked his cellular location and ultimately picked him up near Gulbarga railway station on October 6.”
During interrogation, the police found that apart from the case registered by Ms. Pillai, Walekar was responsible for six other robberies aboard outstation trains. Of them, four were registered with the Kalyan Government Railway Police. The police also found that the Pune police had cases registered against Walekar.
