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Gaya jeweller held in ₹ 1.44 crore train gold heist case, gold recovered
The incident took place on November 21, when Dhananjay Shashwat, a resident of Kasba in Purnia district and an employee of a West Bengal-based gold trader, was travelling in the AC-3 coach of the Howrah–Jodhpur Superfast Express. He was carrying gold worth approximately ₹1.44 crore to be delivered to a party in Jaipur. Four persons wearing police uniforms boarded the train at Gaya station and looted the gold near Manpur station.
The Government Railway Police (GRP) arrested a jeweller and recovered part of the gold looted during a heist on the Howrah–Jodhpur Superfast Express during a raid late on Tuesday evening, officials said.
The arrested jeweller has been identified as Mohit Agarwal alias Golu, owner of a jewellery shop in the Tower Chowk locality under Kotwali police station limits in Gaya town. He was involved in purchasing and selling the looted gold, GRP officials said.
The incident took place on November 21, when Dhananjay Shashwat, a resident of Kasba in Purnia district and an employee of a West Bengal-based gold trader, was travelling in the AC-3 coach of the Howrah–Jodhpur Superfast Express. He was carrying gold worth approximately ₹1.44 crore to be delivered to a party in Jaipur. Four persons wearing police uniforms boarded the train at Gaya station and looted the gold near Manpur station.
Following the intervention of senior officers, a case was registered at GRP Gaya against unknown accused on November 29. Taking the matter seriously, superintendent of police (Rail), Patna, constituted a special investigation team (SIT) under DSP (Rail Headquarters) Bhaskar Ranjan to crack the case.
The SIT found that the conspiracy to loot the gold was hatched by the then Gaya GRP station house officer (SHO) Rajesh Kumar Singh along with four constables and some private individuals. The SHO and the constables were named in the case, suspended, and the SHO was subsequently arrested and sent to jail, Rail SP Anant Kumar Rai said.
Investigations further revealed that the looted gold was cut into small pieces weighing about 100 grams by Vinod Barnwal at an ASM RO water plant owned by Parvez Alam in the Chakand area, for a charge of ₹1,500. Both were arrested.
As the SHO and other accused remained tight-lipped, the SIT relied on technical surveillance and ground intelligence to trace the looted gold. This led investigators to jeweller Mohit Agarwal, who was arrested on Tuesday and later confessed his role in the crime.
A total of 41.75 grams of looted gold was recovered from an almirah in Agarwal’s bedroom on his identification, the SP said.
During interrogation, Agarwal admitted that the then SHO had called him to his residence, where Parvez Alam was also present. A gold piece weighing 98 grams was sold to him for ₹11,28,000, while the remaining gold purchased by him was melted and sold in the form of jewellery.
Action is being taken against all the accused under the Prevention of Corruption Act, and the SIT is conducting raids at various locations to arrest other suspects and recover the remaining gold, the SP added.
