3 held for looting train passengers after sedating them

Bengaluru: The Arasikere Railway Police arrested three people who robbed train passengers by giving them drinks laced with sedatives.

The suspects — Mohammed Shaukat, 55, and Mohammed Sattar, 51, from Kolkata in West Bengal; and Mohammed Awad, 58, from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh — were arrested following a recent complaint. They are related to each other. 

The victims, who were couples, were travelling on the Jodhpur-Bengaluru Express on December 16, 2023. The victims said the three suspects approached them and after getting acquainted, offered them badam milk. When they woke up, they realised that Rs 20,000 cash and 120 grams of gold were stolen.

Following the arrest, the police found that the trio used to target trains with a longer travel time (one or two days), especially those coming from the northern part of the country.

"They used to approach unsuspecting victims and befriend them. When the train was nearing the destination, they gave them juices laced with sedatives,” an investigator said. "It was a matter of luck, too, as sometimes, the passengers never entertained them."

The police recovered the 120 grams of gold that was melted into gold bars.

During questioning, the police found out Shaukat’s involvement in three cases registered at railway police stations in Thiruvananthapuram, Nagercoil and Garden Reach in Kolkata.