For 45-year-old Vijaykrishnan Nair, a resident of Pune, the train journey recently between Tirur, a village in Kerala, and Pune by Ernakulam Express on October 28, was not a very happy one. He was robbed of gold ornaments worth Rs 1.65 lakh also stolen by a group of six youths on the train, he said.

However, Vijaykrishnan is not the only victim. In last six months, two other Keralites staying in Pune went through a similar experience and lost gold jewellery worth Rs 4 lakh in two separate incidents. The rising incidents of thefts forced the Pune Malayali Federation to meet the railway authorities to seek security for the passengers of Poorna Express.

Recalling the incident, Nair said, “We had gone to our village in Kerala to attend a wedding ceremony for which my wife had carried a number of gold ornaments with her. While on way back to Pune, we took the train from Tirur village. There was no problem during the whole journey. But in Miraj-Kolhapur, a gang of six persons entered the train and started playing cards. When the train reached Ghorpadi, we carried our luggage near the door, where the group was sitting. Till that time, the ornaments were there with us.”

He added, “After we got down, we found out that the jewellery was not there. We immediately rushed to register a complaint with the railway police.”

Chairman of Pune Malayali Federation M V Parmeshwar said, “Before this incident, two more persons from Kerala who reside in Sangvi have gone through a similar experience. The first incident happened on May 2, while the second incident took place on June 24. There is not enough security on the train and people come and sit even in the reserved compartments. The railway authorities should appoint security personnel to keep a check on such trespassers.” He added the railway police have agreed to provide security on the train.