Rly. police restore stolen goods to owners

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, JULY 13. Stolen property worth about rupees one lakh were today restored to the owners by the Railway police.

The belongings recovered included about 15 sovereigns of jewellery, a briefcase with clothing, a bicycle, a tape recorder, a mobile telephone and cash totalling about Rs. 20,000. Five culprits were nabbed by the Central railway police on Wednesday and remanded.

Following specific complaints, the railway police force had swooped down on the petty criminals at the Central railway station. Patrol parties were deployed to keep vigil on all the platforms.

These gangs targeted women passengers travelling alone and snatched valuables and baggage. Their modus operandi was to take advantage of passengers distraction when the trains left the platform, said Mr. G. Balakrishnan, Deputy Superintendent of Railway Police.

The five arrested were identified as Yesu (20) of Thanjavur, Pandian alias Kusumbaraja (28), an ex-convict from Kodungaiyur, Sharma (40), a Nepalese ex-convict, Udayaraj (28) from Sowcarpet and Srinivasan (20) of Tiruchi.

Mr. M. Ravi, Superintendent of Railway Police, told mediapersons at the Central railway police station that the railway police had cracked down on unlicensed porters, unauthorised vendors and towel spreaders all over the State. Patrolling has been intensified in all railway stations from Chennai to Coimbatore and more than 1,200 armed personnel have been deployed to keep vigil especially during the dark `amavasya' nights. RPF personnel have also been asked to join the operations, he added.

Sharing her experience with the mediapersons, Ms. R. Jayalakshmi, a resident of Saligramam whose chain was snatched last month when she was sitting near the window in a train compartment, said she was surprised to have been informed ``within 19 days'' that her chain was recovered by the police. ``I could not believe my ears,'' she said. ``Actually, we should be more careful while travelling. A split second's carelessness and my chain was gone.''

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Section  : Southern States
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