Fake CBI agents held after fleeing with gold
Berhampur: In a swift and coordinated crackdown, the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) cracked a sensational case of robbery in which miscreants, posing as officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), decamped with a bag containing gold ornaments and valuables from passengers near Berhampur railway station.
The incident came to light following a complaint lodged on February 26 at around 10.30 pm by the victim, Husmukh Jain (43), a resident of Arihant Tower, Pune Market area, Visakhapatnam. In his report to the IIC of Berhampur GRPS, Jain stated that he and his associate Khima Ram had deboarded Konark Express at Berhampur railway station on the night of February 25. As the duo was proceeding outside the station premises between 9.15 pm and 9.30 pm, two unknown persons allegedly intercepted them and introduced themselves as CBI officials. Under the pretext of conducting an inquiry, the imposters snatched their bag containing two mobile phones and 33 pieces of gold ornaments weighing over 800 grams, along with documents such as Aadhaar, PAN and ATM cards and driving licence, before fleeing the scene.
Acting promptly on the complaint, a joint investigation team comprising GRP and RPF officers launched a multi-state operation. The probe team conducted extensive raids across several locations including Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and multiple towns in Rajasthan such as Jodhpur, Samdari, Balotra and Majivala.
The relentless pursuit yielded results with the arrest of three accused persons — Narendra Kumar (24), Poonam Chand (55) and Jitu Choudhary (28), all from Rajasthan. Police also recovered the looted gold ornaments from their possessions. The arrested persons have been forwarded to the court.
Meanwhile, police are intensifying efforts to apprehend five more absconding accused, Meethalal (28), Balakram (29), Khetu Ram (28), Mahendra Kumar Prajapat (28) and Dinesh, all reportedly hailing from Rajasthan.
The successful operation was carried out by a joint team comprising Aparesh Behera, Crime Inspector, Khurda Road GRP, along with C V Ramana, IIC of RPF Berhampur, and Biswanath Mallick, SI of Berhampur GRPS.
A case has been registered at Berhampur GRPS under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Sections 309(4), later altered to 126(2), 319(2), 320, 310(2), 317(3), 61(2) and 111(3)(4). Investigation is continuing to nab the remaining accused and unravel the full extent of the interstate crime network.
