Badge to Bandit: 4 cops pull off Rs 1.44 crore gold heist on moving train

(AI image)

Four cops turned the tables and pulled off a gold heist on a moving train as they robbed one kg gold worth Rs 1.44-crore from a gold trader’s staff travelling by train, using khaki uniforms.

The incident took place on the Howrah-Jodhpur-Bikaner-Express between Gaya and Koderma Junction in the third week of November. It came to light on December 29 by the police after investigation of the case on the complaint of the businessman, according to a report by the Hindustan Times.

The businessman, Manoj Soni, from Bengal's Howrah, lodged a complaint after suspecting foul play from his employee Dhananjay Shaswat, who was to supply the gold in Jaipur.

Soni said that he approached the Bihar Railway police and got a case registered against unidentified persons in uniform when the employee kept on saying that he was robbed by the cops.

The Rail IG took it seriously and handed over the investigation to Rail SP (Patna) Inamul Haque Mengnoo, who carried out a probe after visiting the incident spot.

“Four constables, who were deputed at Gaya Junction but were not part of any escort party, were found involved in the robbing. The probe confirmed their nexus with criminals and through whom they got to know of gold transportation. They boarded the train they should not have and carried out the operation at Koderma in Jharkhand on the pretext of carrying out search in train,” said an official who was part of the probe, according to HT.

According to the complaint, three men in uniform entered the compartment, searched Shaswat’s belongings and recovered gold from him and took him with them till the gate of the compartment.

"The uniformed robbers stopped the train by pulling chain somewhere in the middle between Gaya and Koderma and took him to some blind spot and robbed all his belongings and again they took him to Gaya junction by giving him a return ticket from Gaya to Howrah advising him not to say anything to anyone. Even two of them accompanied him till Dhanbad and then they left,” read the complaint lodged with police.

Further investigation is underway.