Mankhurd woman charged with theft of 18 batteries, parts of trains
By Kamal Mishra
The central railway protection force (RPF) on Wednesday arrested a woman for stealing 18 batteries and parts of railway engines on multiple occasions.
The accused, later identified as Vanita Sursh Upadhyay, a resident of Makhurd, confessed to her crime, stating that she resorted to the theft in order to buy her son the Diwali sweets he wanted.
CCTV footage of the area showed the woman roaming near the sub-station, said the inquiry officer in charge. On November 16, an informer told RPF inspector SS Barve that Upadhyay was spotted again near Godavari electrical sub-station. Officers rushed to the spot and placed her under arrest, said Sachin Bhalode, senior divisional security commissioner of Central Railway, Mumbai division.
“On the morning of November 10, my son insisted on Diwali sweets but I had no money. In the afternoon, when I roaming around the sub-station, I saw the batteries and decided to steal them to be able to buy the sweets,” the accused told the inquiry officer.
“She is always roaming near the sub-station and became familiar to the sub-station staff, that’s why she easily manage to enter and make away with the batteries,” said sources within the station.
Upadhyay reportedly sold her haul to a scrap merchant named Mohammad Mukhtar Mohammad Yusuf Sheikh from Santacruz between November 10 and 13. They were recovered after her arrest.
On November 16, Upadhyay also allegedly broke into a Kurla carshed, and with the help of a friend named Ram B Prasad, aged 31, stole parts from the diesel engines of long-distance trains, which she sold to another scrap merchant. These were also recovered by the RPF, who presented her before the railway court on November 18,. She was released on bail a day later.
The central railway protection force (RPF) on Wednesday arrested a woman for stealing 18 batteries and parts of railway engines on multiple occasions.
The accused, later identified as Vanita Sursh Upadhyay, a resident of Makhurd, confessed to her crime, stating that she resorted to the theft in order to buy her son the Diwali sweets he wanted.
On November 13, Sarvesh, a junior engineer at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT), informed the RPF that 18 batteries of 6 volts each had disappeared from the Godavari electrical sub-station, causing it to register a case against unknown persons under section 3(a) of Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1966.
CCTV footage of the area showed the woman roaming near the sub-station, said the inquiry officer in charge. On November 16, an informer told RPF inspector SS Barve that Upadhyay was spotted again near Godavari electrical sub-station. Officers rushed to the spot and placed her under arrest, said Sachin Bhalode, senior divisional security commissioner of Central Railway, Mumbai division.
“On the morning of November 10, my son insisted on Diwali sweets but I had no money. In the afternoon, when I roaming around the sub-station, I saw the batteries and decided to steal them to be able to buy the sweets,” the accused told the inquiry officer.
“She is always roaming near the sub-station and became familiar to the sub-station staff, that’s why she easily manage to enter and make away with the batteries,” said sources within the station.
Upadhyay reportedly sold her haul to a scrap merchant named Mohammad Mukhtar Mohammad Yusuf Sheikh from Santacruz between November 10 and 13. They were recovered after her arrest.
On November 16, Upadhyay also allegedly broke into a Kurla carshed, and with the help of a friend named Ram B Prasad, aged 31, stole parts from the diesel engines of long-distance trains, which she sold to another scrap merchant. These were also recovered by the RPF, who presented her before the railway court on November 18,. She was released on bail a day later.
