Bengal: RPF helps woman recover Rs 6.10 lakh in valuables from local train

Kolkata, Aug 26 (IANS) Prompt action by Eastern Railway (ER) security personnel helped a woman commuter recover her valuables worth nearly Rs 6.10 lakh from a suburban train on Tuesday.

The woman, identified as Parvina Khatun, was travelling on the Katwa–Bandel local in the afternoon. She was carrying several bags. While deboarding at the Agradwip station, she left her handbag, the most important piece of luggage she was carrying, near the door of the train. The bag contained all her gold ornaments, documents, and other important personal belongings.

Despite her situation, Parvina did not waste time and lodged an emergency complaint via the Rail Madad portal.

“The alert swiftly reached Assistant Sub-Inspector P.K. Das of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) Post at Nabadwip Dham, setting off a high-stakes, race-against-time operation. As Train No. 37748 DN pulled into platform 2 of Nabadwip Dham Railway Station at 2.37 p.m., the ASI, accompanied by Constable Sanjay Ghosh, boarded the coach and successfully retrieved the unattended bag intact. This was a big success under Operation Amanat,” a senior official said.

Senior officials monitored the entire operation, watching live CCTV footage and communicating with the team on the ground. The team took the bag to the RPF Post and contacted Parvina. She arrived around 3.50 p.m. with her mother. She identified her bag and provided details. Surveillance cameras cover the station; the bag was opened in her presence, with the entire procedure meticulously videographed for complete transparency.

“There were two pairs of gold earrings, two gold rings, three nose rings, a gold chain, a pair of gold bangles, bank passbooks, gas connection papers, and cash in the bag. Under the direct supervision of the Post Commander, Nabadwip Dham, the recovered valuables, valued at nearly Rs 6,10,000, were safely handed back to Parvina,” the official said.

While praising the RPF team’s efforts, senior officials also urged passengers to be careful with their belongings. The railway distance between Agradwip, where the woman got off, and Nabadwip Dham is 26 km. The train has stopped at seven stations in between.

“While surveillance cameras now cover stations, it would have been difficult to trace the bag had someone got off with it after hiding it in their belongings. Being a suburban train, it would have been extremely difficult to track all passengers who got off at midway stations. Hence, while we remain steadfast in our commitment to protect passenger property under Operation Amanat, we would also urge people to be more careful when travelling with high-value items,” another official said.

On August 25, 2026, ER General Manager Gitika Pandey presented appreciation certificates to two other RPF Special Force constables for exemplary vigilance while posted at the Jasidih station on August 15, 2026.

Constables Mahipal Singh and Hanuman Dhanka detected a track fracture following a loud sound after a train’s departure. Their quick report enabled technical teams to secure the track with a fishplate and divert platform traffic safely without interrupting overall train operations.

–IANS

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