09 December,2016 09:45 AM IST | | Suraj Ojha
Stealing gold-plated silver medals from the Divisional Railway Manager’s (DRM) building in CST and earning some extra bucks was definitely easy for these two railway peons, as they have access to the keys
After the arrest of the two railway peons (in front), cops even nabbed the jewellers, (at the back) who bought the medals from them
Stealing gold-plated silver medals from the Divisional Railway Manager's (DRM) building in CST and earning some extra bucks was definitely easy for these two railway peons, as they have access to the keys. However, what they did not know was that their act might land them in jail. The Crime Branch unit of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) arrested them for stealing 1,400 medals worth Rs 18 lakh. Three jewellers have also been nabbed for purchasing the medals from them.
After interrogating the peons, identified as Sunil Kumar Pardesia (28) and Rakesh Anand Shivdas (31), the Crime Branch officials picked up Kumar Pal, owner of Rishabh Jewellers in Byculla; Bharat Jain, owner of Arihant Jewellers in Khar Danda and Shailesh Jain, owner of SK Jewellers in Byculla.
Medals missing
According to sources, nearly 1,550 medals were kept along with felicitation certificates in a cupboard on the third floor of the DRM's office. The medals and certificates are given to railway employees when they retire. On October 30, when office superintendent Deepak Parab, who has a key to the cupboard, opened it to take out a medal for a prospective retiree, he found that there were only 150 left. He immediately informed his bosses and a complaint was lodged with the RPF. In his statement to the police, Parab said, "When I opened the cupboard on August 14, all the medals were there. But on October 30, I found 1,400 of them missing."
During interrogation, one of the accused Pardesia said, "I had once caught Shivdas taking out the medals from the cupboard. He had asked me not to reveal it to anyone and had even promised to give me Rs 5,000. He has been stealing the medals for the past two months."
Purchased at market value
Talking to mid-day, one of the jewellers Shailesh Jain said, "I bought two medals from Shivdas. When he told me that he got the medals from a friend, I asked for his ID card. After he showed me the railway card, I bought the coins as per market value. I paid Rs 750 for two coins, each of which weighs 20 gm." Bharat Jain, who bought 100 coins from Shivdas, gave a similar explanation.
Senior divisional railway commissioner of RPF, Sachin Bhalode said, "We have arrested them under section 3 of Railway Property Unlawful Passion Act and recovered coins worth Rs 14 lakh."
