Train engine worth Rs 5 crore goes missing!

A Railway locomotive worth Rs 5 crore has gone missing after being taken into possession illegally by the contractor who was appointed to transport it from Kalka in Haryana to Mumbai. Recently, the Wadala TT police registered an offence against the contractor and teams have been formed to locate the missing engine.

The police said the company which had got a sub-contract to transport ZDM 3 - a narrow-gauge locomotive used to pull toy trains - from Mumbai to Kalka (Haryana) and back had raised a bill of Rs 4.25 lakh. The engine was transported from Mumbai to Kalka but the contracting company allegedly didn't pay the money on time. Following this, the sub-contractor demanded an additional Rs 60,000 for the delay in payment and didn't deliver the locomotive to Mumbai.

A ZDM class engine being transported on a trailer. Representation pic

On April 23, Shree JB Grain Dealers Association got a contract from the Indian Railways to transport engines from Mumbai to Kalka and back using a trailer. The company sub-contracted the work to Radha Roadways which picked the engine from Mumbai and transported it to Kalka on April 27, while another engine was to be transported from Kalka to Mumbai. The total cost for the transport was fixed at Rs 4.25 lakh.

"As per the agreement Rs 2 lakh was paid to Radha Roadways on April 29, then R1 lakh was paid on May 6 and another payment of R1 lakh was made on May 19," said Anilkumar Gupta, owner of JB Grain Dealers. "But I was shocked as the engine which was being transported from Kalka to Mumbai didn't return. When I checked with railway officials, I was told the engine has been loaded in a trailer at Haryana but hadn't reached Mumbai."

When Gupta contacted Pawan Sharma, the owner of Radha Roadways, he was told that the payment of R1 lakh had been delayed while Rs 25,000 had not been paid yet, and hence the delivery had been withheld. Gupta assured Sharma that the payment would be made as soon as the engine is delivered, but he demanded an additional Rs 60,000 for the delay in payment. "The financial dispute between the two has resulted in Sharma not delivering the engine to the Railways. We have registered an FIR against Sharma under Section 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code after the complaint was made on July 2," Senior Inspector Dnyaneshwar Argade of Wadala TT police station said.

"Radha Roadways has an office in Kalamboli, Navi Mumbai. We summoned Sharma for inquiry but he didn't respond even after repeated reminders and hence the FIR was registered," said an officer.

"The company was given the contract to transport the narrow gauge engines from the Parel workshop to Kalka and bring old or reparable engines back to the workshop in Mumbai. In April, the new engine was transported to Kalka but was damaged during the journey for which a fine will be levied. The FIR must be a fall-out of the extra money which contractor has to pay. We are in contact with the police for updates regarding the whereabouts of the engine," said Dr Shivraj Manaspure, chief public relations officer, Central Railway.

Rs 60K
Additional amount being demanded by sub-contractor