The Railway Protection Force (RPF) arrested two men, who allegedly robbed a Singapore national on a train recently. The duo was about to board the New Delhi-bound Tamil Nadu Express on Monday. The men had robbed many travellers by offering them dry fruits laced with sedatives, officer said.
Police said they were part of a huge group operating in north India and their method resembled that of the ‘biscuit bandits’, who wreaked havoc on trains some years ago.
According to police sources, they had stepped up vigil at Chennai Central, especially on platforms from which trains bound for New Delhi departed. On Monday night, the Anti Doping Squad (ADS) intercepted two male passengers — Satrajit Singh (35) and Sadhu Singh (34) — on suspicion. On checking their luggage, the police recovered Rs. 40,000, six cell phones and other valuables, including those belonging to the Singapore national.
Police said the two men would travel on confirmed tickets and after befriending unsuspecting passengers, would offer them dry fruits laced with the sedatives. Once their victim was fast asleep, they would get down at Nellore or other stations en route in the dead of the night and slip away. After robbing several victims, they would return to their native village in East Champaran district, Bihar and change their SIM cards before setting out to commit more crimes, police said.
They were handed over to the Government Railway Police, who will conduct further investigation, sources said, adding that efforts were now on to trace the duo’s accomplices operating elsewhere.
