AP Railway Police fire into air to scare away robbers on Visakha Express; third attempt this week
Police suspect that the gangs involved may be from Bihar and Maharashtra, as such groups are known to operate along the route, targeting night trains
By Sistla Dakshina Murthy
Representational Image
Amaravati: In a worrying trend, railway police thwarted yet another robbery attempt on a moving train in Andhra Pradesh, marking the third such incident within a week.
In the early hours of Sunday, the Government Railway Police (GRP) opened fire in the air to foil a gangās attempt to loot passengers on the Visakha Super-Fast Express in Palnadu district.
Robbers halt Visakha Express near Piduguralla
The latest incident occurred around 3 am near Tummalacheruvu in Piduguralla mandal when a gang of unidentified robbers targeted the Bhubaneswar-Secunderabad train. Two members of the gang pulled the chain in the S1 coach to halt the train.
Alert GRP personnel on board rushed to apprehend them but were attacked with stones by other gang members waiting by the tracks.
Police fired warning shots to disperse gang
Faced with the stone-pelting, railway police fired at least 10 rounds in the air to scare away the robbers. The gang members then jumped off the train and escaped into the darkness.
A joint search operation was launched by the GRP, the Railway Protection Force (RPF), and the district police to track down the culprits. Passengers expressed relief over the timely action of the police, which prevented what could have been a major crime.
Previous incidents this week
This robbery attempt comes close on the heels of two similar incidents. On June 26, an armed gang tampered with railway signals to halt the Chamarajanagar-Tirupati Express near Siddampalli station in Chittoor district.
They looted gold ornaments weighing about 65 grams from four women passengers in sleeper coaches S-7 and S-10 before escaping.
Two days ago, robbers tried to loot passengers in the S4 coach of the Visakha-Charlapalli Special near Piduguralla. Railway police fired warning shots to foil the attempt.
Gangs suspected to be from outside the State
Police suspect that the gangs involved may be from Bihar and Maharashtra, as such groups are known to operate along the route, targeting night trains. Authorities have intensified patrolling and security arrangements to prevent further incidents.
Passenger safety concerns grow
The spate of robbery attempts has raised serious concerns about passenger safety on trains passing through Andhra Pradesh, prompting railway officials to review and tighten security measures, according to a section of passengers.
