Elderly loses cash, ATM card on Kalka Mail; complaint lodged

Kolkata: A 62-year-old woman lodged a complaint with Howrah GRP alleging that her valuables had been stolen while she was travelling to Howrah in Kalka Mail.

There was Rs 15,000 cash and an ATM card in her bag which were stolen. Interestingly, Rs 1.10 lakh also got withdrawn from her bank account using that very ATM card, she alleged.

The victim, Chitra Bhattacharya, is a resident of Dum Dum and was travelling alone in the air-conditioned compartment of Kalka Mail when the incident took place.

She lodged a complaint with the police after returning to Howrah. Bhattacharya claimed that she had attempted to lodge a complaint soon after she noticed that the bag was missing. She informed the police soon after noticing that her bag was stolen and also informed the police after reaching Howrah Station on Tuesday morning.

The incident took place when the woman, who is a retired school teacher, was returning after her Himachal Pradesh tour. A probe has been initiated in this connection and the police are trying to find out how the incident happened.

The woman suspects that the bag must have got stolen when she was asleep during the journey. She told the police that she did not find the bag when she was about to pay for a cup of tea. She searched the bag near her seat but couldn't find it and then realised that it had been stolen.

In another incident, valuables were also stolen from two compartments of Amritsar Mail that reached Howrah Station on Monday. Some passengers alleged that around 10 luggage bags had been stolen. The police have initiated a probe.