Men in uniform hankering after smuggled gold: A saga of sorts

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: A section of Assam Police personnel, including home guards, hankering after smuggled gold is an age-old practice. Three home guard personnel associated with the GRP (General Railway Police) at Kamakhya Railway Station looting one kg of gold from two train passengers and decamping is a stark reminder to rerun such acts by the men in uniform, making people lose faith in the security setup of the state.

On October 28, 2023, three home guard personnel associated with the GRP-Ajmal Ali, Tafikur Rahman, and Aaktul Ali-looted one kilogramme of gold from two passengers aboard the Kanchenjunga Express and fled. The GRP registered a case (233/23 U/S 120(B)/392 of the IPC) at Guwahati Railway Station GRP Police Station. The trio still remains untraced.

According to police sources, such an incident occurred almost a month ago at the Kamakhya Railway Station. A nayak and four home guard personnel looted around two kg of smuggled gold from two train passengers, besides taking Rs 1 lakh from them. The five men in uniform took the two smugglers to a shop near Kamakhya Railway Station and made them pay Rs 1 lakh through Google Pay. Following a tip-off, the police could arrest only the nayak. The four home guard personnel are still absconding. The irony remains that the looted gold turned out to be fake when tested later.

On June 16, 2021, Guwahati Police arrested an SI, allegedly for selling smuggled gold to a businessman. The case also led to the arrest of a lady constable who was with him on duty.

A personnel from the Dispur Police Station was also involved in an incident in 2019 in which he looted gold from two people who lodged a case with the Dispur Police Station later.

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