Robbers loot passengers of Ambala-bound train in Delhi

Four armed men looted passengers on board an Ambala-bound train soon after it departed from the Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station here early on Friday morning. At least 10 passengers were robbed.

The incident took place around 4 a.m. when the Nizamuddin-Ambala passenger train neared the Tilak Bridge station. The whole episode lasted less than 10 minutes

Eighteen-year-old B.Tech student Sameer Tripathi, who was sitting with his mother Haridulari and sister, recalled that they were barely five minutes into the journey when four persons, one of whom was carrying a knife, entered the coach and asked them to part with their valuables.

“One of them flashed a knife and asked my mother to hand over her purse and my sister her earrings. They were not wearing any masks, but one of them had a turban,” said Sameer.

He alleged that a middle aged man and a youth sitting next to them were also robbed.

“A young man stood up for us and slapped one of them. In revenge, they dragged him to the door and threw him out as the train stopped briefly at Tilak Bridge before reaching the New Delhi railway station,” he said, adding that the robbers decamped with wallets, jewellery and mobile phones.

Sameer claimed that once the robbers left five persons from another coach came and told them they too had been robbed at knifepoint, and also that one of them had been attacked with a rod.

Northern Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Nitin Chaudhary said: “From the New Delhi railway station, all the victim were taken to the Hazrat Nizamuddin police station to record their statements. One person sustained minor injuries, the rest are physically fine” he said.

Sameer alleged that at the police station the victims were dissuaded from filing a complaint.

“We were told that registering an FIR would mean long hours in court and numerous visits to the police station. Many then decided against filing a case,” he said.

However, Ms. Haridulari, who lost valuables and cash worth ₹40,000, insisted on an FIR. Though her complaint was received, the officers allegedly did not take down her version. “In fact, they wrote the complaint themselves and gave us a copy,” she said.

Based on the complaint, a case of theft was registered by the police.