Criminals thrashed a government railway police (GRP) sub-inspector who resisted a loot bid on the Danapur Express, while four armed constables accompanying him fled from the spot early on Tuesday.
Sub-inspector (SI) Ramashish Das suffered multiple fractures on both his arms besides other injuries too.
The incident took place around 1am at Mananpur Railway Station in Lakhisarai district, around 140km east of Patna. The train was on its way from Danapur to Howrah.
Superintendent of railway police (SRP) at Jamalpur, Umashankar Prasad, told The Telegraph that 15 security men were aboard the train for passenger security when it left Danapur for Howrah. "Two stations in Lakhisarai district - Bansipur and Mananpur - are prone to criminal incidents," the officer said. There have been incidents of loots on trains on that stretch earlier too.
So on Tuesday, the criminals came prepared. The officer said: "At least 20 to 25 of them targeted the general compartments of the train. As the train reached Mananpur station around 1am, they began pushing passengers' belongings kept near the doors off the train and jumped off.
An alert Ramashish saw them taking away passengers' belongings and immediately rose to the occasion.
He stepped out of the train with four constables to try and stop the loot. But when the criminals saw the officer in action, they surrounded him and began attacking him with sticks and rods."
Seeing their senior at the receiving end, the four constables, instead of coming to his rescue, chose to run away.
"They all had pistols on them, but they panicked on seeing Ramashish being assaulted and fled. The train had started rolling so they just boarded the train while the criminals continued to assault the sub-inspector. As the train rolled out of the station, two RPF (Railway Protection Force) constables saw the SI being assaulted and raised an alarm. But the criminals managed to flee in the commotion. By then Das was seriously injured. He was rushed to a local hospital. His condition is critical but stable at the moment," Umashankar said.
Raids were on to nab the criminals.
"Besides catching them, strict action would be taken against the four constables who fled from the spot leaving their senior behind. They have been placed under suspension for now and would have to face departmental proceedings, which could even lead to their dismissal," the officer said.
No passengers were injured in the incident. Also the criminals left the belongings they looted from the train on the Mananpur railway station platform when the fled.
The Danapur Express is a daily train and leaves Danapur at 8.35pm and reaches Howrah at 6.35am the next day, covering a distance of 541km. It runs on all days. Major halts on the way include Patna Junction, Mojameh, Jamui, Asansol, Raniganj, Bardhaman and Durgapur.
