NEW DELHI: The Railway Protection Force seized huge quantities of gold bars, silver and over Rs 85 lakh of unaccounted cash from four trains at New Delhi Railway Station, a press statement from the Railway Ministry said on Friday. Acting on a tip, the ministry recovered goods worth Rs 4.01 crore from the trains on September 4, the statement said.
“The RPF Team was on high alert as they inspected several incoming trains. While searching the coaches, they uncovered 24 suspicious packages from four different trains, the Ministry said. “What initially appeared to be routine parcels, turned out to contain a surprising haul : 498 grams of gold bars, 365 kilograms of silver, and 85.72 lakhs in unaccounted cash,” it said.
The Ministry stated that the RPF team, working in collaboration with the Income Tax Department, carefully documented and secured the items for further investigation. It marked the operation as a major success in curbing illegal activities on the railways in the times of Assembly Elections in Haryana. “This operation was just one of the broader efforts of the RPF to secure the Assembly Elections in Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir, which took place between August 16 and October 5,” the press note said.
“With 60 companies of the Force deployed across the two states, the RPF played a critical role in ensuring peace and security during the election period,” it added. Appreciating RPF’s efforts, the Ministry said that the vigilance of RPF throughout the election period resulted in the interception of illegal goods worth 12.86 crores and helped in enforcing the Model Code of Conduct in the recently concluded elections in Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir.
“Seizures included narcotics, smuggled liquor, unaccounted cash, and the items that could potentially be used to influence the voters,” the press note said. It added, “These efforts of the RPF were instrumental in maintaining the integrity of the elections and demonstrated the RPF’s commitment to ensuring the smooth functioning of the electoral process and curbing illicit activities that could have influenced the outcomes.”