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Theft in train at Lko’s Charbagh: Security under scrutiny as locked First AC coupe robbed
Couple alleges repeated helpline calls and three chain pulls brought no security personnel; Zero FIR lodged at Deoria
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A theft reported from a locked First AC coupe of a train at Charbagh has come to light, with a family alleging that jewellery worth ₹5–6 lakh was stolen and repeated calls for assistance brought no police personnel before the train left the station on November 2.
Sunita Kumari, 30, and her husband Umesh Kumar, 31, travelling with their one-year-old son on the Anand Vihar–New Jalpaiguri Express (15726), said they pulled the alarm chain three times and contacted the railway helpline. They first received police assistance at Gonda, the next halt, and later lodged a Zero FIR with GRP at Deoria, their final destination, where they deboarded the train.
According to the FIR, the GRP, Deoria, registered a Zero FIR on November 2 under Section 305(c) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against an unidentified person.
Umesh’s written complaint lists a double-layer gold chain, gold earrings, three gold rings, a mangalsutra, two anklets, four pairs of toe rings and ₹40,000 among the stolen belongings. It also states that Sunita could identify the suspect. The FIR records the case’s transfer to GRP Charbagh on jurisdictional grounds.
Investigators are yet to identify a suspect. GRP Charbagh SHO Dharamveer Singh said there was no CCTV coverage of the spot where the coach had halted. Footage from Charbagh and stations where the train stopped before and after the alleged theft was being examined, he said, adding that the Zero FIR copy was awaited from Deoria.
The family’s account raises a separate concern over how an intruder allegedly entered a coupe locked from within. Sunita told Hindustan Times that she woke up during the Charbagh halt to find a stranger standing inside. When questioned, he claimed to have entered the wrong cabin and walked out.
“We had locked the cabin from inside. After he left, I noticed that our jewellery bag was open and the gold was missing,” she said. Sunita said she hesitated to follow the man because she was frightened and concerned for her infant. By the time she checked the bag and woke her husband, he had disappeared.
The couple sought the travelling ticket examiner’s help and pulled the alarm chain. When the TTE arrived, he advised them to call the railway helpline, they said. Further attempts to obtain assistance, including pulling the chain again as the train began moving, brought no security personnel to the coach, they alleged.
“On the helpline, we were only told that our complaint would be forwarded to the officer concerned,” Sunita said.
According to her, GRP personnel checked the coupe door at Gonda and found that the internal latch could be reached and opened from the outside. This account has not been independently verified. She also said a faulty lock in another cabin, two cabins away, had been repaired before the train reached Lucknow.
A GRP official attributed the delayed response to the time taken to relay the helpline complaint to the designated station and officer. By the time personnel received information about the incident, the train had departed, the official said.
