Chain-Snatching Complaints Filed After Incidents on Kashi and Shramjeevi Express Trains

VARANASI: Government Railway Police have registered cases against unidentified suspects after passengers reported chain-snatching incidents on the Kashi Express and Shramjeevi Express while travelling through the Varanasi rail corridor.

In the first complaint, Babita of Mubarakpur in Azamgarh said she was travelling with her mother Vidyawati from Mumbai to Mau in the S-2 coach of the Kashi Express. She alleged that as the train began moving after its halt at Varanasi Cantt on Sunday, a man pulled a chain from her mother’s neck and escaped. The written complaint was submitted to Mau GRP.

The second incident was reported by Ritesh, a resident of Pakri Barawan in Nawada district, Bihar. He said he was travelling from Rajgir to Moradabad in the B-4 coach of the up Shramjeevi Express on August 8 when a person took his chain between Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction and Varanasi Cantt. He later gave a complaint at Moradabad Junction.

The allegations are based on the passengers’ statements, and no suspect was identified in the report available on Friday. Registration of a case begins the investigation; it does not by itself establish where the offender boarded, whether the same person was involved in both incidents or exactly where each stolen item changed hands.

Train movement creates a short window that snatchers may exploit. Passengers stand near doors, aisles become crowded and attention shifts to luggage or the platform. A person can move into another coach or onto a busy platform before the victim has processed what happened. The moments immediately before departure and after arrival require particular caution.

Railway investigators can compare reservation charts, platform surveillance and coach-position footage where available. The usefulness of CCTV depends on camera coverage, image quality and how quickly the complaint reaches the station controlling the footage. Passengers should therefore alert the travelling ticket examiner, Railway Protection Force or GRP at once rather than waiting until the end of a long journey if circumstances allow.

Dialling the railway security helpline 139 or using the Rail Madad system can create a time-stamped record. Victims should note the train number, coach, berth, last station, approximate time, direction in which the suspect moved and a description that avoids guesswork. A copy of the complaint and details of the jewellery may also be needed for insurance or later identification.

Travellers can reduce exposure by keeping valuable jewellery out of sight and avoiding open coach doors. That advice is about risk reduction, not blame. The responsibility for a theft remains with the offender, and passengers are entitled to expect reasonable security on trains and platforms.

The two cases involve different journeys and dates, but together they underline the need for visible patrols around busy stops in Varanasi. The next meaningful update will be whether investigators identify suspects or recover property. Until then, the complaints remain separate allegations linked by a familiar vulnerability: the few crowded seconds when a train starts to move.