GRP officer who was probing train gold theft arrested for alleged involvement in robbery

The investigation into a gold robbery from the Howrah–Bikaner Express last November has led to the arrest of Gaya GRP Station House Officer Rajesh Kumar Singh, who was also part of the team probing the case on Wednesday, a PTI report said.

According to a complaint lodged with the Gaya Railway Police Station by Dhananjay Shaswat, an employee of a Kolkata-based gold trader, one kg of the precious metal was looted from him when he was travelling on the Howrah–Bikaner Express in November last year, a senior officer said. The report states that the gold was worth approximately Rs. 1.44 crore.

The victim was travelling with the gold consignment to Jaipur where he was supposed to deliver it to another trader. Four men in police uniform boarded his 3-AC coach at Gaya station, two men sat next to him and started asking him about the gold. After a while they ran away with the gold biscuits following which he lodged a complaint.


A senior GRP officer told PTI that a team led by Patna Railway SP was set up to investigate the case. The team screened the call detail records (CDRs) which led to the arrest of Gaya GRP SHO Rajesh Kumar Singh and other personnel. Singh was arrested on Wednesday and sent to judicial custody. The officer refused to share the details of Singh’s involvement in the case.

A senior officer told PTI that a thorough investigation has been launched to identify other officers involved in the conspiracy.

"The police have launched a manhunt to nab other accused personnel, including Karan Kumar, Abhishek Chaturvedi, Ranjanjay Kumar, Anand Mohan, Parvez Alam, and former railway police driver Sitaram, who are currently absconding," the officer said, adding that raids are underway to arrest them.

"The police are also trying to trace the looted gold and recording the statement of Shaswat," he added.