GRP and RPF Seize Rs 43 Lakh From Passenger at DDU Station

By Harsh Mehra••6 min read
Uniformed Indian railway police officers checking passenger bags on a busy station platform at night
Illustrative image: Railway security personnel check bags on a platform during a night drive.

A joint team of the Government Railway Police and the Railway Protection Force recovered Rs 43 lakh in cash from a passenger during a night check on the Sampoorna Kranti Express at DDU Railway Station in Chandauli on Wednesday.

The drive was led by sub-inspector Avinash Tripathi. Train 12393 arrived on platform 3 around 10:30 pm. While checking a general coach, officers noticed a young man with a black backpack. He was identified as Alok Kumar Sah, 23, a resident of Muzaffarpur district in Bihar.

A search of the bag, police said, turned up cash amounting to Rs 43 lakh. When questioned at the spot and later at the police station, Sah did not give a satisfactory account of where the money came from and did not produce documents that established its source to the team's satisfaction. Those details remain part of the inquiry; no court has ruled on any offence.

Railway security informed the Income Tax Department's Varanasi unit. An IT team reached the police station, and both the passenger and the seized cash were handed over for further legal action under that department's process. GRP and RPF have described their role as recovery during a coach check and transfer to the tax authority, not as a final finding on hawala or any other labelled offence.

DDU, formerly Mughalsarai, is a major north-south junction where long-distance trains pause long enough for platform and coach checks. Night arrivals of high-footfall expresses routinely draw GRP and RPF attention to general coaches, where baggage is harder to monitor than in reserved berths. Wednesday's recovery fits that pattern: a visible bag, a stop on platform 3, and a joint team already on duty for the arrival.

Police have not released a note-by-note breakdown of the cash in the initial public account, nor have they named any co-accused. The verified facts stop at the identity of the passenger, the train and platform, the amount recovered, the time window, and the handover to Income Tax. Any wider network claim would need separate confirmation from the agencies now holding the file.

For passengers, the practical takeaway is familiar but sharp. Large cash moved without paperwork invites questions on railway premises, and DDU remains one of the stations where such checks happen without prior warning. Sah's case now sits with the tax department; railway police will assist as asked.

Family members in Muzaffarpur and any counsel he engages will deal with the next procedural steps, including whatever notice or summons the Income Tax unit issues. Until those agencies speak further on the origin of the notes, the public record is the Wednesday night seizure on train 12393 and the transfer of Rs 43 lakh and the passenger to Income Tax, Varanasi.

Sources and reporting

Based on Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force confirmation of the Wednesday night recovery on train 12393 at DDU Railway Station, identification of the passenger, and handover of the seized cash to the Income Tax Department, Varanasi.

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