Six held for stealing railway track material from freight corridor line in Vadodara

Vadodara: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has arrested six people, including former and current contract employees of the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), in connection with the alleged theft of Pandrol clips and liners from the freight railway line between New Vasad and New Makarpura stations.

The Dedicated Freight Corridor connects Jawaharlal Nehru Port near Mumbai with Dadri in Haryana and is primarily used for freight train operations. The theft came to light during an inspection of the line, when the inspection team received information about railway material being removed from the track section between New Vasad and New Makarpura.

Acting on the information, the RPF launched an investigation and apprehended the suspects. During the probe, officials found that 412 Pandrol clips and 410 liners had allegedly been removed from the railway line.

Among those arrested were four people associated with DFCCIL, including former and current contract employees. They have been identified as Ashish Chhatrasang Chauhan, a former DFCCIL contract employee; Ajay Manubhai Rathwa (27) of Gorwa, a current contract employee who was assigned track-patrolling duties during the monsoon; Gopal Somabhai Vasava, a former contract employee; and Mahesh Pratapsinh Gohil of Sherkhi.

The other two accused have been identified as Jugavi Mohammad Shaikh of Fagvelgar, who allegedly transported the stolen railway material in a tempo, and Irshad Ehsan Ansari of Karelibag, who allegedly stored the material.

The RPF is now investigating the circumstances surrounding the theft and the role of each accused. Officials are also examining whether the incident was part of a larger conspiracy and whether the removal of the track material posed any risk to the safety of freight train operations. DeshGujarat