The incident occurred at around 1 pm, when the train had left the Kurla terminus and was on its way to Thane station. As the train slowed down near Vidyavihar, it was boarded by three men in their early 30s.

They entered the unreserved, second-class compartment, which had over 60 passengers. Whipping out knives, the trio abused and pushed the scared passengers, injuring two of them, Abbas Ali Shafi Mohammed (20) from Saki Naka and Sorab Ali (20) of Madanpura.

The trio then proceeded to rob the other passengers of cash and jewellery including rings and gold chains. The thieves then jumped off the train as it slowed on its approach to Thane station.

The train was delayed by an hour. A complaint filed at the Thane police station by Abbas Ali Khan, one of the passengers, describes all three men as being in theirlate 20s or early 30s. Two of the miscreants were bespectacled. One wore a cream colour shirt and trousers while the other was clad in jeans and a shirt.

The incident is the third of its kind in the last two years, with two similar robberies having occurred on passenger trains in 1996 and 1997. In the last robbery, which took place on the Pawan Express on 15 April 1996, a near-identical modus operandi was employed by five miscreants who jumped into the general compartment as the train slowed down near a signal at Vidyavihar station.

Another robbery occurred on September 11 last year on the Kushinagar Express when four thieves boarded the train as it slowed down at the Vidyavihar crossing. These four were subsequently arrested and released on bail.

Superintendent of Police (GRP) K Ramachandran told Express Newsline that robberies on running trains in the city are rare.

``Today's robbery appears to be the work of an unorganised gang. We are trying to work out their identities.''

The thievestarget the general compartment for easy pickings, avoiding the reserved coaches where the likelihood of getting caught is greater, he said. While the five miscreants robbed passengers of a paltry Rs 260 in 1996, the four robbers last year robbed Rs 890.

Police have begun making sketches of the trio to be pasted at various railway stations.