Is train heist case heading towards a dead end?

Several teams were formed to investigate the case along the route of the Salem-Chennai Express up to Eranakulam. But till now, the CB-CID officials were yet to get any concrete lead in the case. Several railway employees, RBI staff and others had been picked up and interrogated, said CB-CID sources. 

A senior CB-CID official told DTNext that several suspects had been picked up and questioned but nothing concrete had come up till date. “It is an ongoing process,” he said adding that the verification and cross verification of the statements provided by the suspects were still on.

As the detection in the case was delayed, the officials have lost hope of recovering the looted amount. “The culprits could have spent the entire amount by now. There is no way we can track the currency notes that they had taken away from the parcel van,” another official said. 

RBI sources said technically the stolen money had now turned out to be an amount equivalent to black money. These currency notes were soiled and were to be destroyed after reaching RBI Chennai. 

Sources told this newspaper that RBI could have already released fresh currency notes to the tune of the soiled notes that they collect to destroy. Though the notes looted from the train were only soiled but still were legal tender, said officials. 

CB-CID officials said that a small delay in accessing the crime scene in such cases hamper the chances of detection. The case was first handled jointly by Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police. It was later handed over to the CB-CID.

CB-CID sources said that several leads could have already been lost by the time their officials started investigation in to the case. However, the officials were still trying hard to find out who looted the cash and from where they drilled the hole on the roof of the train. The several teams formed were also on the job to crack this complicated case, the sources added.