Special team deployed to curb train robberies in Khandala Ghat route

The Mumbai-Pune railway route has been targeted by a gang of thieves during 'technical halts' in the Khandala Ghat section, prompting increased security measures.

Lately, a new series of thefts has been found to occur on the Mumbai-Pune railway route when long-distance trains headed to Mumbai from Pune take a ‘technical halt’ in the Khandala Ghat section. The robberies are taking place due to passengers leaving their windows open at night as summer is underway.

The robberies are taking place due to passengers leaving their windows open at night as summer is underway. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

In the last two months, six FIRs have been lodged by the Government Railway Police (GRP) and now, a special team of eight GRP personnel and six Railway Police Force (RPF) personnel has been deployed at five different spots in the ghat section to prevent these robberies from taking place. It is suspected that the robberies taking place earlier in the Daund section were committed by the same gang of thieves but their focus has changed to the Khandala Ghat railway section.

According to the information shared by the GRP, the robberies have been taking place over the past couple of months. There are several long-distance trains running between Pune and Mumbai at night during which time passengers keep their windows open. Taking advantage of this, the gang snatches valuables belonging to the passengers through the open windows.

Rajendra Gaikwad, GRP senior police inspector in charge of Pune railway station, said, “We started getting complaints from passengers in trains running between Pune and Mumbai, especially when the trains take a technical halt in the ghat section. Most of the passengers keep their windows open and valuables such as gold jewellery, mobile phones etc. are stolen through the open train windows. Hence, we decided to deploy our team in the ghat section at points where these trains stop like Khandala, Monkey Hill, Nagnath and Jamrugh. While at the Thakurwadi point, the RPF team has been deployed.”

Trains such as Konark Express, Kalukya Express, Gadag Express, Sai Shirdi Express, and Siddheshwar Express travel on different days of the week through the ghat section between Pune and Mumbai at night. “We have lodged around six FIRs of train robberies in the ghat section in the last two months. Whereas now, as our teams are going for patrolling and creating awareness among passengers not to open windows at night, these robberies have reduced somewhat,” Gaikwad said.

Eight GRP personnel have been given daily duty from 9pm to 5am wherein they travel from Pune railway station to the ghat section by train and then stop at these halting points.

Kiran Pisal, a passenger, said, “Recently, I travelled from Pune to Shirdi by the Sai Shirdi Express and when the train was passing through the ghat section, it stopped for some time. It is risky for passengers to stop in the ghat section at night as these robberies are taking place and we appreciate that the GRP is taking this initiative to stop these robberies.”