Bhubaneswar, Sept. 22: An awareness campaign by the East Coast Railway (ECoR) has failed to curb incidents of drug and loot in running trains as well as at the city railway station.

Sources in the Government Railway Police (GRP) said 50 such cases had been reported so far this year.

On Sunday, Raghunath Ekka was offered tea by a fellow passenger on a running train near Lingaraj station. After he consuming the tea, he fell unconscious and goons decamped with Rs 1,500 and Ekka's cell phone.

Kailash Sarangi, secretary of NGO Sahaya, which deals with such people who take such drugs, said that some times the drugs are so strong that the person regains consciousness only after two days.

"The criminal gangs are mixing psychotropic drugs with every possible drink such as tea, green coconut water, milk and juice. They also add the drugs to cakes and biscuits," said Sarangi.

In July, the GRP had arrested a medicine shop owner from Cuttack road for selling psychotropic drugs without medical prescriptions. The arrest was made after a minor boy was arrested on charges of looting one J. Iswar Rao, who was travelling to Angul, by administering a psychotropic drug to his soft drink at Bhubaneswar Railway Station.

Rao had lost his consciousness after taking the drink and was admitted to Capital Hospital in a critical condition. The minor had also shown a demo to cops on how he procured the drug from the medicine store.

The GRP officials said the goons have started a new trend of administering the drug along with " prasad".

"We have come across a few cases where passengers were offered prasad. When they refused to take it, the goons would try and convince them by invoking religious beliefs and serve them the drug-laced prasad," said a GRP official.

Several medicine shops in and around the station area in Bhubaneswar have allegedly been selling psychotropic drugs such as Ativan 2mg without prescription. Sources said many autorickshaw drivers, small-time vendors and platform hawkers are also involved in the organised racket.

The chief public relations officer of ECoR, J.P Mishra, said: "Frequent drives are being conducted at regular intervals to educate rail passengers. We have been making frequent announcements at the station platforms, requesting passengers not to take food and drink offered by strangers. Besides, we have also conducted a special drive and nabbed several offenders in the recent past."