Two of gang that controlled train signals, robbed passengers held in G Noida

The gang used to place coins between the joints of railway tracks. This breaks down the ‘track circuit’ when the train passes on it and turns the next signal, if green, into red for a couple of minutes.

The Greater Noida police arrested two members of an alleged gang of notorious robbers who stopped trains by planting a Rs2 coin on the railway tracks and robbed commuters at gunpoint.

The duo was produced at the district court in Surajpur and sent to jail.

The gang used to place coins between the joints of railway tracks. This breaks down the ‘track circuit’ when the train passes on it and turns the next signal, if green, into red for a couple of minutes, during which the gang robbed passengers at gunpoint, the police said.

The gang is alleged to have committed more than three dozen robberies in Moradabad through this modus operandi.

Of late, the gang has been active in Dadri and had stopped trains and looted commuters between Dadri and Boraki railway stations, the police said.

“Four such incidents have been reported at the railway protection force (RPF) police station in Dadri. Based on the complaints, Surajpur police, along with a team of the railway police, on Monday tracked the gang and nabbed two persons from the railway tracks near inland container depot in Tilapta,” said Suniti, superintendent of police (rural).

“Two persons of the gang have been arrested, while two others managed to evade the police and escape from the spot,” she said.

Those arrested have been identified as Rajan and Dinesh, both of Bulandshahr. The police have recovered a countrymade pistol and live bullets from the alleged robbers.

Girish Kumar Kotiya, station house officer of Surajpur police station, said, “They mostly looted people who were seated in the last bogies of trains.”

If they executed the robbery successfully, they termed the coin used in the process a lucky coin, he said.

The two members of the gang who managed to give police the slip have been identified as Sumit and Robin. Sumit is from Bulandshahr and Robin is from Aligarh, the police said.

An officer said, “Once the track circuit is broken, the next signal on the track turns red. While one member of the gang was engaged in breaking the circuit, others waited near the next signal to rob the passengers.”

The duo was produced at the district court in Surajpur and sent to jail.