An accused who drugged his victims to steal their belongings has been arrested by the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) railway police on Friday. One of his victims was a commuter travelling to Chennai and was left unconscious at the railway station after being robbed, he woke up two days later in Copper hospital.
According to the Government Railway Police (GRP), the victim who landed from Kuwait on July 2 was travelling to Chennai from CSMT. The accused, who was carrying a bottle of water and some snacks, approached the victim and initiated a conversation in a friendly manner and gained his trust. He then lured him to the garden near the CSMT bus depot and shared some chips and water from his water bottle.
The victim, after drinking that water, collapsed. After which, he directly woke up at the civic-run Cooper hospital two days later on 4 July.
“The victim informed us regarding the entire incident and how he fell unconscious after sipping the water from the bottle of the accused. He described the appearance of the accused and we started looking out for suspicious persons like him,” said senior police inspector, Mehboob Inamdar, CSMT GRP.
On 17 August, a man with a very similar appearance and approximate age was spotted at CSMT railway station with suspicious behaviour. Out of the things procured from the accused, one passport with the name and address of the victim was also recovered. Upon asking him regarding the passport, the accused denied saying it belonged to one of his friends. After questioning him further, he admitted to his crimes, informed Inamdar.
“He admitted that he has used the same technique of drugging his victims and stealing their belongings, before as well. So we have started a probe to find out and investigate more such incidents,” added the officer.
The belongings of the victim, including his suitcase and passport were recovered and returned to the victim.
The accused has been identified as Salim Khan (58), residing at Vikhroli East. He has been arrested and booked under section 328 (causing hurt by means of poison with the intent of committing an offence).
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