Mumbai: The railway track piece found across the tracks near Diva earlier this year, which had potentially endangered the lives of hundreds of passengers aboard an express train, was placed on a dare for ₹2,000, the police said on Friday.
The 6.62-meter track piece, weighing 3.5 quintals, was found in the path of the Madgaon-Mumbai Janshatabdi Express on the night of January 24. The motorman spotted the piece in time and stopped the train.
The police said that five history-sheeters, who were arrested on Thursday night for allegedly planning to rob a train, confessed to having placed the piece on the tracks. “The Mumbai police picked up the five accused based on a tip-off and charged them for preparing to commit a dacoity on Thursday. During questioning, they confessed to having committed the earlier offence. They said that a childhood friend, Maula Makandar, promised to pay them ₹2,000 if they placed the piece across the tracks,” Thane Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh said. He said they even waited near the tracks to see what effect the piece would have if a train hit it. However, when the motorman stopped the train, they fled the scene.
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“Makandar is a repeat offender with a history of committing thefts on railway premises, and was arrested on March 17, after which he has been in the central jail in Taloja. We will seek his custody to interrogate him, after which we will be able to tell whether he made the bet as mischief or due to some other mala fide intention,” he said.
The arrested men have been identified as Danish Sheikh (26), Suraj Bhosale (25), Mohd Shabbir Sheikh (34), Nazir Sayyed (24) and Jayesh Pare (30). The police said they grew up in the same area in Mumbra as Makandar. The arrested accused have been remanded in police custody till April 17.