‘Drugging and robbing’ of train passengers on the rise

DIMAPUR, MARCH 28 (MExN): Incidents of unwary train passengers getting drugged and robbed are on the rise. Two such incidents were reported between Dimapur and Guwahati in the past week alone, while on March 27, an attempt was foiled at the Dimapur railway station. 

Going by the trail of the incidents, Dimapur-Guwahti route is the preferred hunting ground for this particular breed of fraudsters, who befriend passengers at trains and railway platforms before drugging them unconscious and decamping with their personal belongings. The weapon of choice can be a seemingly harmless cup of tea or a cold drink, but, laced with a good dose of sleep-inducing drugs. 

One such fraudster was not so lucky on the night of March 27. The accused identified as Abul Kasim (24 years) was arrested by a joint team of Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police Station personnel after a brief chase. Hailing from Kakorijan, Nawgaon, the accused revealed that he takes shelter in Tutu colony, Lahorijan when situation so demands.     

The man was arrested on suspicion after an alert passenger informed the Anti-Drugging Cell of the RPF, said officer-in-charge of the RPF stationed in Dimapur. The accused had tried to befriend one Bihar-bound passenger, who got wary of the stranger’s sudden display of friendliness. 

Twenty-four pills of pharmaceutical ‘Ativan’ (sleep inducing drug) were confiscated from his possession, which were found concealed in the shoes he was wearing. According to the accused, the pills were given to him by an accomplice, who frequently shuttles between Dimapur and Nawgaon. He was handed over to GRPS, where a case was registered under section(s) 328/379/511 of the IPC. In the confessional statement to the police, he further disclosed that he had drugged and robbed a passenger at Diphu a few days back.    

The arrest comes in the backdrop of the incident wherein two persons were found in an unconscious state at Kamakhya railway station, Guwahati on March 24; and on March 25, when another person was found unconscious at Hojai. 

All three were suspected to have been drugged and robbed after they fell unconscious.  While appealing passengers to be vigilant when travelling, the RPF said that its Anti-Drugging Cell has stepped up vigil to counter the difficult-to-detect act of crime. A feature of this include manually video-recording the movement of people in the platform and passengers who board trains; all this in the absence of CCTV cameras.