THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The thefts in long distance trains reported in Kerala have dropped in the last one month due to the action taken against ‘white-collared thieves’ who upgrade their tickets through Train Ticket Examiners (TTE) and secure berths in air- conditioned compartments.
Also, a WhatsApp group has been formed by government railway police (GRP) officers of various states to click and share images of suspicious people on a real time basis.
“The modus operandi of these thieves is to dress up like gentlemen and first book normal tickets. Then they go to the TTE and upgrade to berths in air-conditioned coaches and sleeper classes. After bypassing the need to provide ID cards, they steal from the coach and go undetected,” railway police deputy supe-rintendent N. Rajesh said.
Now in each train, the police have started demanding photo ID cards from everyone who upgrade the tickets.
“This, of course, leads to protest from genuine passengers but this July we have not had a theft between Parassala and Aluva, This shows that thieves were taking advantage of loopholes in the system,” the DSP claimed.
Every year, between 190 and 240 theft cases were registered and many of these happen in border areas around Coimbatore. The suspects in roughly 66 per cent of these theft cases are caught.
Last month also, a thief who had upgraded his ticket escaped with valuables at Parassala, said GRP superintendent V.C. Mohanan.
“We talk to the bed-rolling staffers to spot suspicious passengers and click their pictures on our mobile phones. We share it in our WhatsApp group and if it is a habitual offender, cops from across the country will respond. Most thieves we have caught this way are handsome and well-dressed,” Mr Rajesh said.
