Cleaning staff found the .38 bullets in four packets in an Andheri-bound local on Aug 15; railway police say they may have fallen down from a policeman's pocket
In a matter of concern for Western Railway authorities, cleaning staff found 22 live bullets from a local train on August 15. While the police are investigating the matter, officials are of the view that the bullets may belong to a police staff doing rounds on Independence Day.
Gunning for a claimant: The authorities have begun investigations to find the owner of the bullets, who they believe is a railway policeman
ADVERTISEMENT
According to the railway police, around 11.30 pm on Thursday, while cleaning one of the trains, staff Raju Kanojia (25) found 22 live bullets below the seats in a general compartment. “We were cleaning the rake when Raju came with the bullets in his hand and we all were surprised and tensed. We informed our senior and he took us to the railway police,” said one of the cleaning staff who didn’t want to be named.
The bullets are of a .38 calibre revolver. “We have registered a case and as of now we have not got any claimant. Prima facie, we can say this is the property of government staff and not terror elements,” said senior inspector Shivaji Shinde of the Government Railway Police (GRP). The train was a 7.39 pm slow local from Churchgate to Andheri. At 8.30 pm, it arrived at Andheri’s platform one and within two minutes it left for the yard for maintenance. The police are hoping the claimant would show up within a few days.u00a0
“The owner of these bullets might not be aware that they are missing. As soon as he realises, he’d file a complaint and we will be able to get to him,” said a GRP staff.
The workers, employed by private contractors, work in shifts and tidy rakes parked at the yard. “We have sent our staff to the armory to check if the bullets are missing. We are also checking with the department concerned,” said Shinde.
Lost ammo?
Incidentally, the bullets under a Western local’s general compartment seat were not found placed all together -- 16 were placed in a small plastic bag used to keep a mobile, three were in a small box officially given to railway police, two were wrapped in a khaki paper, and the last in a sheet of paper. u00a0
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
