Alert cops foil attempt to loot trains

Nobody was injured in either of the incidents. While the dacoits could not steal anything at Phursungi, the culprits succeeded in snatching the wrist watch of a train commuter at Pophalaj.

Five unidentified dacoits halted the Mumbai-Kolhapur Sahyadri Express after damaging the outer home signal on the down line near the Phursungi Railway Station around 11.30 p.m. yesterday.

The dacoits inserted their hands inside the windows of a First Class bogie of the train and tried to snatch the jewellery of the passengers travelling in it immediately after the train halted.

However, alerted by the cries for help by the passengers, two railway police constables travelling in an adjoining bogie rushed to their rescue. The culprits indulged in fierce stone-pelting when the railway police personnel tried to apprehend them.

The dacoits fled only after constable A A Bagwan fired a shot from his 303 rifle, officials from the railway police control room in Pune said. The Sahyadri Express was delayed for nearly half an hour due to the incident, they added.

Within five hours after the incident, a 10-member gang of dacoits attacked the passengers of Bangalore-Kurla Netravati Express near the Pophalaj Railway Station on Pune-Daund-Kurduwadi section of Central Railways.

The train, which had halted just outside the railway station to allow other locomotive to pass on the track, had rolled back to a secluded spot when the incident took place around 5.15 a.m. today, according to the reports reaching Pune.

The officials from the railway police control room said the unidentified culprits tried to snatch the jewellery worn by the passengers after inserting hands inside the windows of a three tire compartment.

However, the cries for help by the commuters alerted a seven-member team of railway police personnel travelling in adjoining bogies. The dacoits indulged in heavy stone-pelting for nearly 20 minutes after the policemen tried to nab them.

The culprits escaped while taking advantage of the darkness and the chaos that ensued only after constable V G Shinde opened fire from his 303 rifle. Later, a train passenger lodged a complaint stating that he was relieved of his wrist watch by the culprits.