Patna: A senior Jharkhand official was robbed while travelling in an air-conditioned coach of the Ganga Damodar Express, reigniting concerns about railway security in Bihar.
Gaurav Goyal, state organisation secretary of the Anti-Corruption and Crime Control Awareness India, boarded the train in Dhanbad on Tuesday and was seated in the A1 coach. He said his bag, which contained a laptop, official documents, identity cards, bank cards and several thousand rupees in cash, was last seen near his seat before the train reached Gaya. When he awoke upon arrival in Patna, the bag had disappeared.
Goyal reported the theft immediately to the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and later filed a written complaint with the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Patna Junction. However, he expressed frustration that no action had been taken and no suspect identified more than 24 hours after the incident.
According to passengers, CCTV footage offered no leads, as cameras were not installed in the section of the coach where the theft occurred. This has raised suspicion that the perpetrator was aware of the security blind spots.
The incident has sparked wider anger among rail users, who argue that even those paying extra for AC coaches are left vulnerable. “If theft can happen here, one can imagine the condition of general coaches,” a passenger said. Critics claim slow police responses embolden criminals, leaving passengers with little protection.
