A Government Railway Police (GRP) officer who was investigating a high-value gold robbery aboard a train in Bihar has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the crime, police said.
Gaya GRP Station House Officer Rajesh Kumar Singh was taken into custody on Wednesday in connection with the robbery of gold worth Rs 1.44 crore from a train passenger in November last year. Police said further investigation is underway to identify and arrest other accused linked to the case.
The robbery came to light after a complaint was lodged at the Gaya Railway Police Station by Dhananjay Shaswat, an employee of a Kolkata-based gold trading firm. Shaswat alleged that around one kilogram of gold was looted from him while he was travelling in the 3-AC coach of the Howrah–Bikaner Express in November.
According to police, Shaswat told investigators that four men wearing police uniforms boarded the train at Gaya station. Two of them allegedly sat beside him, questioned him about the gold consignment and later fled with gold biscuits. The complainant was travelling to Jaipur to deliver the gold to a trader.
A special probe team led by the Patna Railway Superintendent of Police was formed to investigate the case. Analysis of call detail records (CDRs) allegedly pointed to the involvement of SHO Rajesh Kumar Singh and other personnel, a senior Patna GRP officer said.
Singh was subsequently arrested and remanded to judicial custody. “A comprehensive investigation is now underway to ascertain the role of other officials involved in the crime,” the officer said, declining to disclose further details of Singh’s alleged role.
Police have launched a manhunt for other accused, including Karan Kumar, Abhishek Chaturvedi, Ranjanjay Kumar, Anand Mohan, Parvez Alam and former railway police driver Sitaram, who are currently absconding. Raids are being conducted at multiple locations to arrest them.
Investigators are also working to recover the looted gold and have begun recording detailed statements from the complainant, police added.
