Bihar: Policeman probing into gold robbery in train held as suspect

Gaya GRP officer Rajesh Kumar Singh was arrested for involvement in a November gold heist worth ₹1.44 crore from a train passenger. Police are investigating other absconding personnel and attempting to recover the stolen gold, while statements and CDRs guide the probe

Patna: A GRP officer, who was probing into a robbery of gold worth Rs 1.44 crore from a train passenger in Bihar in November last year, was arrested for his alleged involvement in the crime, police said on Friday.

Gaya GRP Station House Officer Rajesh Kumar Singh was apprehended on Wednesday in connection with the gold heist case, and the investigation is underway to arrest others involved in the crime, they said.

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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.

“Shaswat claimed that four men in police uniform boarded the 3-AC coach of the train at Gaya station, and two of them allegedly sat next to him and started asking about the gold consignment. Later, they decamped with gold biscuits,” he said.

The complainant was heading towards Jaipur to hand over the gold biscuits to a trader there.

“A probe team led by the Patna Railway SP was constituted. It analysed call detail records (CDRs), which revealed the involvement of Gaya GRP station house officer Rajesh Kumar Singh and other personnel in the crime,” a senior officer of the Patna GRP said.

He said Singh was arrested on Wednesday and sent to judicial custody.

“Now, a full-fledged investigation has been launched to find out the complicity of the other officials in this case,” the Patna GRP officer said.

He, however, refused to divulge the details of Singh’s involvement in the crime.

“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.