4 Italian nationals held for painting Ahmedabad metro coach before Modi’s inaugural ride

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Friday picked up four Italian citizens for painting a graffiti on a metro train parked at metro train depot. The incident rang alarm bells among the security agencies since it happened hours before prime minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of Ahmedabad metro rail project.

Senior police officials said that “there was no major security breach” as the train PM took the inaugural ride was different which was parked at Kalupur station under heavy security. However, the timing of the incident is said to have sent the police and other security agencies into a tizzy. Deputy Inspector General of Police, ATS, Deepan Bhandran, confirmed that four foreign nationals have been detained for questioning but refused to divulge any further information.

The foreign nationals have been identified as Gianluca, Sacha, Daniele and Paolo. Police have refused to divulge their full identity as they are yet to register a formal complaint. Sources said that the foreign nationals, aged between 25 and 30, entered the metro rail depot at Apparel Park under Gomtipur police station area and spray painted graffiti which read “TAS”. The incident is reported to have occurred at around 2:30 am.

Hours later, the prime minister inaugurated the metro line between Thaltej and Vastral from Kalupur station, where he arrived on Vande Bharat Express train which he flagged off from Gandhinagar railway station early in the morning.

First, the Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) was alerted about the graffiti. A DCB official told DH that after going through CCTV footage and other clues, the foreign nationals were picked up and subsequently other agencies were alerted. The ATS took the custody of the four for further investigation.

“Initially, it was looking quite serious but as we pieced together details, we found that they could be part of Rail Hoons who deface trains. Initial inquiries suggest that they are involved in at least five such cases in south and north Indian states while two cases are registered with Mumbai police,” a DCB official said.

Police said that CCTV footage showed the four foreigners sneaking into the depot at 2:30 am and painting the graffiti on the parked metro train.

“They are claiming that they did it for fun and that the painting is an artwork. But, we are a little worried over their timing. It could have been a major security breach,” a police source told DH.