MLAs on board trains robbed outside Mumbai

Two MLAs on their way to attend the monsoon session of the Maharashtra assembly were robbed of their belongings at Kalyan railway station outside Mumbai on Tuesday. 

 

Two legislators, Congress party’s Rahul Bondre and Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raimulkar, were on their way to the city via the Vidarbha Express and the Devgiri Express, respectively, their police complaints said. 

 

Bondre, who represents the Chikhli constituency in Jalna, told reporters at the Maharashtra assembly building that an unidentified person entered the air-conditioned bogie reserved for MLAs he was travelling in and fled with his wife's purse and a file containing documents. The wallet contained Rs 51,000 cash and an ATM card, Bondre said.

 

The MLA said he tried to chase the thief, who escaped into the city.

 

Raimulkar said he woke up between the Kalyan and Thane railway stations to find his mobile phone, his wallet containing Rs 10,000 and identity card missing. He has also reported the loss of a file containing important documents, according to police. The MLA added that a bag he had been carrying was slashed with a blade.

 

Later raising the issue in the assembly, Bondre said 'Acche Din' has come for thieves under the BJP-led governments.

 

"The thief could enter the bogie reserved for MLAs, which shows that law and order has broken down in the state," Bondre told reporters.

 

Railway Police officials felt that both the robberies could have been the handiwork of the same gang.