BJP leader Devendra Inani from Indore foiled a theft attempt onboard a train while travelling with his family to Haridwar to immerse the ashes of his late mother and three other relatives.
The incident occurred in the early hours of July 21. The train tickets for Haridwar were booked about a month ago. Inani’s mother, Ramkanya Inani, died on April 8 at the age of 85.
Inani and eight of his family members boarded the train from Laxmibai Nagar station in Indore on the night of July 20. Around 4am, between Morena and Agra Cantt stations, a man entered their S-2 coach from the adjacent S-4 and tried to flee with the bag containing the ashes. Inani woke up and caught him red-handed. Inani said the bag contained the urns carrying ashes of his mother and those of three other relatives.
Passengers gathered and thrashed the accused. A search led them to two empty purses in the washroom, and one passenger discovered that his mobile phone had been thrown out of the train. The accused, said to be a resident of Gwalior, was handed over to the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Agra Cantt. His identity and previous criminal antecedents are being probed by the police.
Inani said, “Most passengers had to continue the journey, so the person who lost his mobile phone stayed back and lodged the FIR.”
Inani and his family reached Haridwar on Monday and performed the rites on Tuesday.
A video of the incident also surfaced on Tuesday, in which the accused can be seen in the custody of Inani and other passengers.
