Accepting biscuits and soft drink from fellow passengers on the Karnataka Express proved costly for a 25-year-old private firm employee. After consuming the food, the man found himself in Solapur Civil Hospital, Maharashtra, with all his valuables missing and no recollection of what had happened.
After being discharged from the hospital, the victim Banasiddha Manu Eidege, who works in Bengaluru, filed a complaint with the railway police on Saturday. The police said that Mr. Eidege, a resident of Indi taluk in Vijayapura, had gone to his home town and was returning to Bengaluru when the incident took place. In his statement, the victim said that he was travelling in the general compartment on Friday when three men sitting next to him started a conversation.
They later offered him cream biscuits. Initially, Mr. Eidege declined the offer of snacks, but the men insisted that they share their food.
“He told us that he accepted a couple of biscuits, but soon after eating it he experienced uneasiness and nausea. The men then offered him some soft drink and expressed concern about his health. They asked him to lie down for a while,” said a police officer. That was the last of Mr. Eidege’s recollection. The next day he woke up at the hospital and found that his belongings, including a laptop bag, mobile phone, educational certificates, Aadhaar card, and debit cards, missing. There was no trace of the ₹31,000 that he had been carrying with him either.
The Solapur Railway police, who took up the case, have transferred it to the Bengaluru city police for investigation. The police are now examining CCTV footage looking for the three men. “We have their physical description based on his statement,” said the police. They have also advised the public not to accept food offered by fellow passengers.
