Mumbai: Cops return stolen chain to railway commuter after 14 years

This picture has been used for representational purpose

Retired businessman Suresh Savaliya was in for a surprise when the railway police returned him a 22-gram gold brick at an event held to mark Women's Day. Savaliya had lost his 22-gram gold chain after his handbag was stolen during an Ahmedabad-Mumbai train journey in 2007.

According to a report in Times of India, the police returned stolen laptops, phones, jewellery, and cash collectively valued at Rs 14 lakh to 34 other railway passengers.

Recalling the day when his chain was stolen, Savaliya said he tucked his handbag under the berth and went to sleep. However, when he woke up, the bag was missing. Savaliya had bought the gold chain soon after his wedding.

"I got off at Borivli station and lodged a complaint at GRP outpost," he said. Whenever the GRP retrieved stolen gold ornaments from offenders, Savaliya was called in (on two occasions), however, his was not among the booty.

"When we caught hold of the accused, he had already sold the chain to a jeweller. Our team tracked down the jeweller, but he had melted it. We then recovered a gold biscuit from him," a police officer said.

Over the years, the accused was released on bail and vanished. "He failed to appear for court hearings and we had to track him down again," the officer said.

Unlike the case of Savaliya, city-based Shripal Jain's stolen phone was tracked down within two days. The 37-year-old computer dealer had lost his phone while boarding a train. "On February 3, I was boarding a train from Thane station. Just as I was getting into a CSMT local, I got a feeling that my pocket had been picked. I was concerned as all my digital wallets were logged in on the phone," he said.

Jain said, "At the police station, the staff immediately escorted me to view CCTV footage. They lodged my FIR within under an hour and solved the case by February 5."

The Women's Day event was presided by additional DG Sandeep Bishnoi and GRP commissioner Quaiser Khalid. The GRP returned stolen valuables worth Rs 4.5 crore to over 3,400 rightful owners.