Nagpur: A 67-year-old woman travelling on the Nagpur-Pune Vande Bharat was robbed of gold jewellery, valuables and cash of 21 lakh this week. Police, however, cited CCTV footage to clarify that she was mobbed by a women’s gang and robbed while boarding the train, and not inside the coach.The passenger, Anjali Mudholkar, was returning to Pune after attending a family programme here, when a group of women surrounded her while she was boarding the Vande Bharat at Ajni railway station in Nagpur. “The gang created an artificial commotion to distract Mudholkar, before snatching the purse with valuables from the bag,” said a Govt Railway Police official. “Some suspects were spotted on CCTV and we are trying to track them down,” said the railway cop. The elderly woman’s purse had 8,000 in cash, gold tops, necklace, chain, diamond pendant, gold mangalsutra, ornaments and documents, said police.After the train left the station, Mudholkar suddenly discovered her purse was missing and informed railway officials. The matter was promptly escalated, activating Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Govt Railway Police (GRP). A case of theft was registered against an unknown person, and an investigation was launched.CCTV footage from the train and other stations are being scanned to identify the gang, said GRP officials, adding every aspect of the case is being examined and efforts are underway to arrest the accused. “We have already detained a few suspects, who are habitual thieves,” said an official.
