Anil Rana, 23, president of a Chandigarh village (Navangam) Shiv Sena unit, is still under severe shock at the hospital after he was robbed of valuables including two mobile phones, gold and cash by co-travellers on a train from Mumbai who gave him ``pedas'' containing high sedatives. According to the hospital doctors, the sedatives' presence in his blood has been confirmed, though he was perfectly healthy after their influence on Monday.

Rana told Express Newsline that he went into deep sleeping around Saturday midnight after three middle-aged Gujarati-speaking men talked him into celebrating one of their birthdays. He had taken an Agra-bound train, and the incident took place somewhere near Surat. It was his first visit to Mumbai where his elder brother Ajay, a choreographer, runs an artistes bureau.

``I had gone to Mumbai last week and was on my way back to Chandigarh. Though I missed a couple of trains at Borivali I was guided to take an Agra-bound train around 11 pm on Saturday. I was travelling in a non-reserved compartment which had the three persons besides a large number of others''.

``They were eating ``pedas'' already, when I saw them. They asked a couple of general questions and also gave me a ``peda''. I also smoked a cigarette and I do not know what happened later'', he recalled. ``I have telephoned my brother who is likely to reach Vadodara anytime on Monday night'', he added.

Curiously enough, though Rana says he has lost Rs 21,000-something in cash, two newly purchased mobile phones, two gold chains and a wrist watch, the police has yet to acknowledge it. The phones, he says, were bought to be resold at a profit, as he runs electronic gadgets shop in his village.

Though police stations involved in the case -- Railway Police and the City Police's Sayajigunj station -- say they have lodged formal reports in the case and are investigating the matter, official sources say the matter hung fire initially because of jurisdictional wrangles.

Since the complaint was lodged with the police by a waiter of a local hotel, the railway police wanted it to be probed into by the Sayajigunj police. Railway Police inspector G J Rathod denies any delay and says that the matter is being looked into by both the agencies from different angles under Section 328 (injuring and looting one with criminal intention) of IPC. ``Other police stations of GRP on the railway route would also be consulted systematically'', he added.