Central Railway staffers held for stealing Rs 44 lakh from LTT locker

Representation picture

The Government Railway Police (GRP) claimed to have cracked the case of theft of Rs 44 lakh from a locker at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), just a day after the crime, on Tuesday. An official at Kurla GRP said that two employees of Central Railway have been arrested in the case. "The accused have been identified as Sameer Taharabadkar, 33, and Kumar Pillai, 34. We produced them before a court that has remanded them in police custody till September 28," said an officer attached to GRP, Kurla.

"We have arrested two people and are investigating the case," said Commissioner of Police, GRP, Ravindra Shengaonkar. However, a police officer told mid-day that the accused are not cooperating in the investigation. "They have not revealed how they hatched the plan of theft and where they have kept the money," said the officer, adding that other employees are also under the scanner. A senior officer from Central Railway said, "The two staffers arrested in the crime have been suspended."

The case

Chief Booking Officer of LTT, Sunil Teltumbde, had filed an FIR against unknown persons. According to his statement to the police, early on Monday, booking clerk Zamman Meena informed him about the theft. Teltumbde later found the accused may have used a duplicate key to steal the cash, as there was no sign of force applied to break the locker. The locker room is one of the safest and secure places at LTT.

The stolen money was the amount collected on September 21. The police had registered an offence against unknown accused under sections 454 (lurking house trespass), 457 (lurking house trespass or house-breaking by night) and 380 (theft) of IPC.

Staff on shift

Six employees - Sajit Nair, Ratish Jha, Harishchandra, Meena, Pankaj Singh and cashier Taharabadkar - who were on the second shift, had continued on the third one as well, on the day of the theft. A police officer had said that the locker is in the ticket booking office and nobody is allowed in the area without the cashier's permission.

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