Three arrested in 500-metre railway track theft from Kochi port's high-security zone
Three men, former contract workers, were arrested for stealing 500 metres of defunct railway track from a high-security Cochin Port area, exposing security lapses.
Three men, former contract workers, were arrested for stealing 500 metres of defunct railway track from a high-security Cochin Port area, exposing security lapses.
Three men, former contract workers, were arrested for stealing 500 metres of defunct railway track from a high-security Cochin Port area, exposing security lapses.
Kochi: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) in Kochi have arrested three men in connection with the theft of nearly 500 metres of a defunct railway track from the high-security land belonging to Cochin Port Authority on Willingdon Island, cracking a case that had exposed serious security lapses inside the port premises.
The latest development was confirmed by RPF sources, who said the accused have been identified as Kochi natives Thajudeen and Afsal, and Chandrashekhar Malik, a migrant labourer. All three had earlier worked on a contract basis at the Cochin Port, giving them detailed knowledge of the port's layout and its security vulnerabilities.
The accused were arrested after an RPF team led by Ernakulam South RPF Inspector Binoy Antony intercepted a rented truck on Aluva Market Road on Monday night. The vehicle, allegedly driven by one of the accused, was found carrying around 400 cut pieces of the stolen railway track along with heavy-duty gas cutters believed to have been used to slice the steel rails.
Following this, the RPF personnel conducted follow-up searches along NDA Road in Kalamassery and recovered additional sections of the cut railway track hidden beneath thick bushes at two separate locations.
According to RPF sources, the trio was preparing to transport the stolen iron rails to scrap dealers in Tamil Nadu when they were intercepted.
“The accused had cut the rails into smaller, transportable pieces and planned to move them out of Kerala for disposal in the scrap market. Their arrest prevented the stolen railway property from being transported outside the state,” RPF sources added.
The three were produced before the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court and remanded to judicial custody.
The theft had prompted separate inquiries by the Cochin Port Authority (CPA) and railway authorities after nearly 500 metres of railway track mysteriously disappeared from a restricted zone near the Q9 Berth.
The stolen section formed part of a disused railway siding that once carried coal from the port's Q9 Berth to the Hindustan Newsprint Limited (HNL) plant at Velloor. The line, which passes the Tata Global Beverages (formerly Tata Tetley) premises towards the historic Harbour Terminus Railway Station, had remained unused for years and was largely covered by thick vegetation.
Despite being inactive, dismantling and removing such a large stretch of railway track required extensive planning and equipment.
According to the RPF, the accused cut the rails into manageable sections between the Q9 Berth and the Tata Global Beverages premises before allegedly smuggling them out through a locked rear gate of the walled port complex.
“The investigation has revealed that the theft was carried out over a period of time from within a high-security area guarded by the CISF. We are examining how such a large quantity of railway property could be removed without attracting attention and whether anyone else facilitated the operation,” the RPF said.
Investigators traced the accused after analysing CCTV footage from various port entry and exit points and acting on information received from local residents who had reported suspicious activity in the area.
The RPF is now expanding the investigation to identify other possible accomplices and ascertain whether any port insiders played a role in facilitating the theft from the high-security facility.