An alert railway employee foiled what could have been a major robbery involving a sum of over Rs. 1 crore, by not only preventing the thief from taking away the cash but also by apprehending him.
Giving details to the media here on Monday, Government Railway Police (GRP) station house Officer (SHO) Dharminder Kalyan said it was due to the alertness and quick presence of mind shown by office superintendent Devinder Singh of the local railway station that the robbery attempt was foiled on late Sunday night. The alleged thief, Ashok Kumar, a daily wager with the railways, was chased and apprehended by the superintendent and handed over to the GRP.

He said the thief had planned to steal Rs. 1 crore lying in the strong room inside the office of deputy station superintendent (DSS) on Platform No 1. Taking advantage of the fact that it was a Sunday and all offices were closed, the thief entered the office of the Ticket Inspector (TI) by opening its lock with a master key, which he may have stolen earlier in the day.

According to the GRP SHO, the thief gained assess into the room of the DSS after breaking a portion of the common wall with the office of the TI. Devinder Singh who had by chance come to the railway station to pick up a relative who was coming by train noticed a dim light flickering in the room of the DSS and got suspicious.

Kalyan said that thereafter Devinder with the help of other railway employees broke open the door to the office of the DSS. The thief then tried to run away but was chased and apprehended and handed over to the GRP, he said, adding that the thief was still to get access to the strong room where the cash was kept. The cash was part of the salary of some railway employees which was still to be disbursed.

The GRP has arrested Ashok Kumar, a resident of Railway Colony at Kot Khalsa locality, and registered a case under sections 380, 457 and 511 of the IPC against him. The police are investigating whether he was alone in the crime or had an accomplice.