Railway cops nab the ‘respectable’ thief of AC coaches

Kochi: The Railway Police have arrested an Ernakulam native who had been carrying out robberies on trains, especially in AC coaches, for long.

The modus operandi of Nasar, aka Pambu Nasar, of Palluruthy was to pose as a white-attire clad ‘respectable’ passenger on trains. During the journey, he would get acquainted with the train ticket examiner (TTE) and upgrade his second-class ticket to get a berth in the AC coach. The man then vanishes along with some of the valuables of other passengers.

NABARD DGM Ranjith Kumar too fell victim to Nasar’s antics as he lost his laptop, passport and mobile phone. Apart from him, several people complained of robbery on trains to the police in the past few months, prompting railway police superintendent Merin Joseph to issue strict instructions to nab the culprit.

A special squad was formed to trace the robber.

Nasar mainly targeted trains, running along the Mangalapuram- Thiruvananthapuram route. Once he commits the crime, he flees by jumping off the train as it slows down. Nasar’s escapades paid for his luxurious life. Several cases of fraud have been registered against him at the West Kochi police station.

The team led by Ernakulam railway DySP KM Gigimon was in charge of the squad. Railway circle inspector Aji G Nath, SI Antony, ASI Ajayakumar, G Manoj, SCPO Anil Sebastian, CPOs Shyam, Vilas, Suresh, Ansil, RPS officers Vipin and Shaji were also part of the team.