MCD teacher, aide arrested for thefts from trains

New Delhi: A 35-year-old MCD primary school teacher and his associate was arrested by the police for his involvement in many cases of theft. Bhattu Bheem Rao Patil, a resident of Shaheen Bagh and currently serving as a MCD teacher in a primary school in Sangam Vihar, was arrested along with his associate Kundan Singh Bisht.

The accused said that he had taken to gambling and had a huge debt which he could not pay off with his salary. This made him turn to stealing documents and valuables from train passengers.

The police said that the duo got caught after a zero FIR was registered against him in Meerut. The accused teacher would target AC coaches of Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains and make away with booty. He later called his victims from the stolen phones and extort money on the pretext of returning the stolen articles.

According to the police, on February 16, a zero FIR was received from GRP Meerut regarding the theft of a laptop from New Delhi railway station. The complainant had travelled from New Delhi to Meerut by Shatabdi Express on February 12 when her laptop and purse containing Rs 2,000 and other documents, including IDs, passport, and debit cards, were stolen.

The police said that soon after committing the theft, the accused contacted the brother of the complainant on finding his mobile number in the stolen bag, and offered to return the stolen articles in exchange of Rs 30,000. An Army officer also lodged a similar complaint at the New Delhi police station.

Several raids and searches were conducted in Okhla, Badarpur and Jamia Nagar. The call detail rec-ords were also scrutinised. The police nabbed the accused after having verified CCTV footage, intelligence and CDR analyses.