Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) lost his gun while relieving himself inside the washroom of a waiting room at CST station. He had kept the 9-mm service weapon on the flush tank below a window
A railway cop lost his gun while relieving himself inside the washroom of a waiting room at CST station. The incident occurred two weeks ago.
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The loaded firearm belongs to Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Avdesh Kumar of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), deployed at CST station. The Government Railway Police (GRP) has now sought help from the Mumbai police after its attempts to trace the firearm turned futile.
Though the cops are cooperating, they are miffed at the fact that the GRP took two weeks to inform them about the stolen firearm. It has been learnt that all the 94 police stations across Mumbai, and the Crime Branch, have joined the search operation initiated by the GRP to trace the 9-mm pistol.
Senior Inspector Shivaji Shinde from CST GRP confirmed, “The officer’s pistol was stolen and we have registered a case under Section 379 (theft) of the IPC.”
Gone from the window
A police officer said, “Around 9 pm, Kumar visited the washroom and kept the pistol on the flush tank below the window. While he was relieving himself, someone stole the pistol. It took a while for Kumar to register that his pistol was missing, following which he panicked and tried to find his pistol. After all his attempts failed, Kumar informed a GRP officer and registered an FIR.”
Soon after the case was lodged, GRP officers swung into action to trace the stolen pistol. But despite scrutinising CCTV camera footages and rounding up suspects for questioning, they failed to secure leads. Finally, the GRP sought help from the Mumbai police.
Soon, a message was forwarded to all the police stations and Crime Branch offices, asking officers to keep their eyes open for possible leads.
A police officer said, “We are worried because the pistol is loaded. In the wrong hands, it could prove disastrous. Though we have alerted our informers, there are still no leads. Had the GRP informed us earlier, the situation could have been different.”