Three employees of Ballygunge railway station allegedly conspired and stole Rs 3.57 lakh from its strongroom.

The theft came to light early on Monday, and the trio was booked by the railway police for burglary. Senior officers said they will later be charged with misappropriation of government funds. The three staff members have also been put under suspension.

Insiders say it happened on Sunday when the three men, including the station?s booking clerks, reportedly finished the day?s work and closed the counters. After cashier Meghlal Vaid left, the two other booking clerks, Sujit Kumar Roy and Biplab Sarkar, stayed back after putting the entire day?s collection, amounting to Rs 3.57 lakh, in the strongroom adjacent to the station.

?Once the day?s work is over, the entire proceeds, along with receipts and the counterparts, are kept in the strongroom. On Sunday, the same routine was followed,? said one of the station staff.

Around 3.30 am, railway police officers claim, Sarkar and Roy suddenly raised an alarm, saying the lock of the strongroom was broken.

With not many around that early, a messenger was sent to the station manager, prompting him to rush back almost immediately.

An inspection of the site revealed that not only was the lock broken, but all the cash kept inside an almirah was missing. With both the booking clerks, who had put the cash inside a few hours before, still there, the manager reportedly decided to call the railway top brass.

Rattled by the news, senior railway officers called up railway police and the matter was handed over to the Ballygunge GRP for investigation.

The GRP decided to detain the two who had first raised the alarm. After grilling the two, the cashier, who lives in the railway quarters nearby, was also interrogated.

?During the course of our interrogation, it appeared that the two had broken open the almirah and deliberately raised the alarm to mislead the police. The entire operation was masterminded by the cashier,? claimed additional director-general (railways) Jeet Ram Bhagat.