Two Railway Crimes: Signal Tampering and Robbery

CHENNAI: A history-sheeter was arrested for covering the railway signal with his shirt, and snatching the gold chain of a passenger when a train slowed down. The suspect, P Kumaresan (30), has been remanded in custody. He has several criminal cases pending against him, and had been detained under the Goondas Act twice in the past. The Government Railway Police (GRP) said the incident occurred around 10 pm on Tuesday when the passenger, Asudha (57) - a railway nurse travelling from Egmore to Kovilpatti, was standing near the wash basin of Nellai Express. Investigators said Kumaresan climbed a signal post located between Potheri and Kattangulathur stations and covered the signal light with his shirt. Thinking there could be an issue with the signal, the loco pilot slowed down the train. Taking advantage of the situation, Kumaresan allegedly boarded the B2 coach and approached Asudha, snatched her gold chain weighing one sovereign, and fled after jumping off the train. The woman alerted railway staff. Though she did not lodge a formal complaint, the Tambaram GRP registered a suo motu case. Efforts are on to recover the chain. In a separate incident, a youth from Bengal, Karthik Singh, was arrested within 12 hours for allegedly attacking a passenger with an iron rod and robbing him of his phone aboard an EMU train on Wednesday. Police said he pulled the emergency chain and fled. Egmore Railway Police later arrested him and recovered the phone.