Gang stealing bags on trains nabbed

NEW DELHI: The Railway Unit of Delhi Police busted an interstate gang of bag lifters operating across multiple states, leading to the arrest of four habitual criminals and the recovery of 12 stolen bags worth several lakhs of rupees.

The accused were identified as Amit Kumar (37), Karan Kumar (27), Gaurav (33) and Punit Mahto (38), all residents of Begusarai, Bihar. According to the police, the breakthrough came after a complaint was lodged on July 3 about the theft of five bags from coach A-1 of Train No. 12477 (Mata Vaishno Devi Katra SF Express) at New Delhi Railway Station.

CCTV analysis traced the culprits to the Crystal Hotel in Paharganj. Raids led to the arrest of Amit Kumar (Vaishali), Karan Kumar, and Gaurav (Begusarai), all with previous records involving theft, robbery, arms, and narcotics cases.

A fourth accused, Punit Mahto, was later arrested at Anand Vihar Railway Station. He has a long criminal history across Bihar, Rajasthan, and Delhi.

Police recovered three trolley bags (two confirmed as stolen), four pitthu bags, five handbags, two mobile phones, and Rs 47,000 in cash.

Four more trolley bags were recovered from Mahto, pending verification against other theft cases. The gang targeted crowded trains and stations, focusing on black and blue bags to avoid CCTV detection and mislead hotel staff.

They used a method of swapping bag contents in hotel rooms and discarding empty stolen bags, making detection difficult.

The group also used safe houses on the Badarpur-Faridabad border and frequently changed identities and devices to evade arrest.

The case was cracked by a team under Inspector Vishwanath Paswan and ACP Rajesh Kumar.