Two held for robbing train passengers

Bhopal, March 15 (IANS) Two men were arrested here for robbing train passengers mostly on the Mumbai-Varanasi route after drugging them, police said Monday.

"Cash worth over Rs.1 lakh and other valuables have been recovered from the duo - Ram Bali, 28, and Ram Vachan, 35. They were arrested Sunday and found to be involved in robbing at least half-a-dozen passengers after drugging them. The hunt is on for their other accomplices," said Superintendent of Railway Police Deepak Verma.

"The accused, who hail from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, a couple of years ago had settled in Mumbai where they initially sold ice cream. However, not satisfied with their daily earnings of Rs.700-800, they turned to crime to
make fast money," the officer said.

"There are about half-a-dozen members in the gang who used to target Uttar Pradesh bound trains. Their modus operandi was to strike up a conversation with passengers, become friendly with them and later give them drugs, mostly sleeping pills, in cold drinks or tea," said Verma. "When the passengers slept off, they would escape with their belongings."

The two men have confessed to have committed robberies at Bhusawal, Manmad, Khandwa, Jabalpur, Varanasi and other stations between Mumbai and Allahabad during the last two years.

"The duo used to board sleeper class coaches from Mumbai and looted passengers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who were returning home carrying cash," the officer added.