Bangalore passengers' luggage stolen from Jodhpur-bound train

The thefts came to light when travellers in the reserved coaches — S5, S7, S11, S9 and S4 — woke up in the morning and found their baggage missing. Some empty luggage were found dumped in the coach toilets.

Abbas Khan, Mukesh Kataria and Manoranjan Kataria said a few people had barged into the reserved coaches at night and despite passengers objecting to their presence, the ticket checker and the railway police personnel had allowed them to travel in the reserved compartments.

After the train crossed Pune railway station, the trio said they went to sleep at around 3 am. When they woke up in the morning, the luggage and other belongings of more than 10passengers were missing. The people who forcibly entered the coaches and were seated on the floor too had vanished, they said.

The stolen valuables include clothes, cash, gold ornaments, all estimated to be worth over Rs two lakh. The passengers alleged that the railway personnel were in cahoots with the thieves who used cutters and other instruments to snap the chains that were used to attach the luggage to the berths.

A complaint has been lodged with the Miraj police in Maharashtra. Rameshwar Bhati, Devi Singh and Ashok Gehlot, social activists from Belgaum, whose relatives’ valuables were stolen on the train, alleged that security on the trains had touched a new low and thieves and robbers were boarding trains in the guise of police and railway personnel these days.