2 arrested with stolen phones at Muzaffarpur station

Patna: Muzaffrapur railway protection force (RPF) arrested two persons in connection with separate cases of stealing passengers' phones and personal belongings late Friday evening. The railways has launched an operation ‘Yatri Suraksha' in Samastipur division of the East Central Railway (ECR), to curb thefts on running trains.The accused, identified as Iqbal Alam and Mohan Kumar, both residents of Muzaffarpur, were arrested by alert RPF personnel during routine checks and surveillance operations at Muzaffarpur station. The arrests led to the recovery of three stolen cellphones, two gold lockets and Rs 4,000 in cash from their possessions, said Muzaffrapur RPF inspector, Manish Kumar.RPF officials recorded statements of both the accused before handing them over to the GRP for further legal proceedings against them, he said adding further investigation was underway to ascertain if the accused persons were linked to other thefts reported on trains passing through the region.According to Kumar, Muzaffarpur RPF personnel were on a routine duty at the time of arrival of Raxaul – Anand Vihar Sadbhavna Express (14017) on platform number 4 around 3.45pm. The RPF personnel noticed a person running after alighting from the train. When asked, he gave no satisfactory answer. Following him one passenger Chand Ansari from Sitamarhi reached the spot and said that his cellphone was stolen by him. Upon search, the stolen phone was recovered, he said.In another incident a phone and personal belongings of one Mantosh Kumar were stolen from a local MEMU passenger train while he was boarding the train at Muzaffarpur around 6.40pm. The thief was caught and stolen phone and other valuables were recovered by the RPF, he said.