STORYMIRROR

Adhithya Sakthivel

Action Crime Others

2.8  

Adhithya Sakthivel

Action Crime Others

THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY

THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY

12 mins
73



NOTE: This story is loosely inspired by the train robbery that happened in England in 1963. But it's completely based on my own fictional work, even though it's inspired by real-life incidents. You might have heard about a lot of train robberies, and you might have even seen Hollywood movies related to that. But this is the seed for all that, including my own story. It doesn't apply to any historical references or real-life incidents. This story can be read by all(irrespective of the age groups).

August 8, 1963

ERODE JUNCTION

From Thiruvananthapuram to Erode Junction, Trivandrum Express was departing. It's not a passenger train. It's a goods train operated for the postal department. Time is around 3 in the morning. The train, which was coming fast, suddenly slowed down. The train, which should reach Erode by 4, because of the sudden red signal, was stopped in halfway.

The loco pilot and fireman who saw the red signal were very surprised. (Their job is to stop the train when the red signal is on, so you may feel like what is there to be surprised?) Those who were travelling on that track for many years were surprised that till now in that particular place a red signal was not issued.

The loco pilot, who saw the red signal, asked the fireman to check for problems in the track, and the fireman also got down from the train to check for the problem. In the next few minutes, the train started moving, and when it started to move, five officers from the postal department who were in the next compartment to the engine started to scream. Since only the first compartment was attached to the engine. Other compartments of the train were still in the same place without moving.

FEW HOURS BACK

August 7, 1963

The time is around 6.30 in the evening. From Thiruvananthapuram Junction to Erode Junction, Trivandrum Express, which is also called a travelling post office, was ready to depart. There were totally 12 compartments in that train, and 72 post office staff were on duty. Among the 72 members, five of them were in the first compartment.

The train, which left Thiruvananthapuram station at 6.50, handed over the letters and luggage to the next local post office, picked up the letters and luggage from those post offices, and left.

PRESENT

Now the next day, that is, on August 8, 1963, around 3 in the morning, when the train was going in Ingur track, they got the red signal. Since they will not get a red signal usually in that place, firefighters got down from the train to know whether there is any problem in the track. He made a call to the next station from the telephone next to the signal post. But when he made that call, a big shock was waiting for him. Someone wantedly cut down the telephone wire.

The fireman, who was shocked by that, realised that something was wrong. To tell this immediately to the loco pilot, he went there faster. But before he came to the train, someone attacked him from behind, and he fainted. At the same time, three people entered the train engine. The loco pilot, who understood that something wrong was going to happen, got ready to attack them. But without giving a chance, they attacked his head with an iron rod and made him faint.

Now the other members of the gang left the first compartment of the train, and after detaching other compartments, the train started to move. After travelling 1 km from that signal, now again the train stopped in Rangampalayam. When the train stopped, that gang, from that train, took a total of 120 high-value packages and loaded them in the truck, which was already parked there, and escaped in two Land Rover cars.

Since it is the first biggest train robbery in the world, it was talked about not only in Tamil Nadu but also throughout the world. Because letters or important government documents were not robbed in the train. The money that was robbed is worth 639 crores. But it took only 30 minutes to rob this much amount.

(Will the police be silent after such a big robbery?) ASP Krishnakanth formed a team and started searching for the criminals seriously. In the next one week after this incident, police arrested Jordan, a criminal. With him in the next few years, they arrested a total of 12 members.

In the serious investigation, Krishnakanth asked Jordan, "Tell me. Who is the mastermind behind this robbery?" Taking a seat in the chair, he further questioned, "And how did you all plan and execute it?"

Jordan reveals the plan to Krishnakanth in the investigation.

FEW MONTHS BACK

Adhithya of Erode is a person who goes to jail often for small theft cases. At one stage he got bored of stealing and going to jail often. He decided to do something big and settle in life. He decided that he couldn't do these big thefts alone.

Adhithya discussed it with two criminals, Antony and Paul Adarsh, whom he met in jail. Through an ex-military man, Edwin Field, he got the contact of a senior security officer of the post office train. Both of them who got close to that security officer—not only are they transporting the letters and documents, but they are also taking money worth millions from one bank to another. That senior security officer knows on which date they will take money in the train and from where to carry the money; like this, he knows everything from A to Z.

Adhithya, who is the mastermind of this robbery, the senior security officer, Sukiivardhan, and Paul Adarsh decided to rob the post office train and started to plan for it. It's not an overnight plan. They started planning for months. That's when they realised one thing. Even though they are experienced in robbing, they have never robbed in the train.

They started searching for candidates who have experience in train robbery, and when they were searching for the person who was an expert in train robbery by doing silly thefts, they came to know about a gang named South Coast Raiders. In that gang (an expert who stopped the train and robbed), there were four members: Vikash Prabhu, Jerome Prince, Martin Roy, and Jordon Caleb. It started to become a big gang with a total of 15 members.

Finally, on August 8, 1963, the date was fixed for robbing. There were holidays in the week in which they had planned. Unexpectedly, strikes were also happening. That week, a lot of money was in the bank. A very big amount, beyond their imagination, was loaded in the post office train on the evening of August 7th.

Like already planned on August 8th, under the railway bridge of Rangampalayam and Ingur, Adhithya parked 2 cars and 1 truck ready to leave, and from there he walked 1 km and damaged the railway signal there. After damaging a 6-volt battery that Vikash brought, Adhithya's gang turned on the red signal. The time is around 3 in the morning.

From far, Adhithya heard the noise of

the post office train, and when he heard the noise, he ran and hid with his gang members. When the train stopped seeing the red signal, his gang attacked the loco pilot and fireman and made them faint. The gang then entered the train.

Now there is 1 km distance between the train and the vehicles they have parked. Only if the vehicles are near the train can they easily shift the money. Adhithya has planned it perfectly and had a solution.

(I said that there were 15 members in that robbery gang. There is a slight change. (A 16th member was also with them.) After attacking the loco pilot, to operate the train from the signal to the place where their vehicles are parked, they have hired a retired loco pilot. Till then, everything was going according to their plan. But the retired loco pilot tried to operate the train. Unexpectedly, a shock was waiting for them.

The retired loco pilot was operating an old model engine. But this train had a new model engine. He didn't know how to operate this train. Adhithya's situation was like tying in their hands when they were hungry and giving them food. Now Vikash started to be confused without knowing what to do.

The time was passing, and the tension became high. Everything was just for two minutes. If they didn't take the train immediately to the bridge, the total plan will collapse. Now, without any options and without mercy, Vikash had another plan.

Adhithya hits the fainted loco pilot again and sprayed water in his face and made him conscious. He forced him to operate the train with half consciousness, and he also operated that train with half consciousness. He came and stopped the train under the Rangampalayam railway bridge.

When he stopped the train, Adhithya instructed Jordan to hit him again. He made him faint as per the instructions of Adhithya. The gang then went to the next compartment, which had the high-value packages. The South Coast Raiders gang already made the five officers lie on the ground by threatening them. Now, along with them, they also locked the loco pilot.

Like passing the bricks to another person in a construction site, like that the gang passed and loaded every sack into the truck. Among the 128 bags, they took 120 bags.

Now Krishnakanth, who got the information about the incident, came to the spot immediately. But he didn't get any evidence about them. When he investigated those officers, they said, "Sir. They have masked their face."

"Any other clues?" asked Krishnakanth.

Thinking a little, the loco pilot replied, "Sir. They…they also wore gloves." Since that gang was very clever, Krishnakanth couldn't even find a fingerprint.

In a crime scene, even though the criminal was very clever, they will say that without knowing he will leave some evidence behind. Like that, Adhithya and the South Coast Raiders gang didn't leave any evidence there. But without knowing it, they left a clue to the police.

After robbing before they left, to the people in that compartment, Adhithya said not to move for the next 30 minutes and said not to inform the police. Are you thinking what clue is there in that? Or else lots of my readers who are clever might have found it.)

With what they said, Krishnakanth assumed that, from the crime scene within 30 minutes driving distance, Adhithya and the South Coast raider's gang might have hidden somewhere. From the place of incident within 50 km radius, Krishnakanth and his team started searching them.

Krishnakanth guessed it right. From there, in 43 km, Adhithya and the South Coast Raider's gang went and hid in Kodumudi farmhouse. They bought this farmhouse to hide after the robbery. But through wireless radio, Adhithya and Vikash were listening to police movements. The gang decided to escape from there. Since the police were searching for them.

The South Coast raiders gang and Adhithya robbed on Thursday, and they have already planned to escape from the farmhouse on Sunday. Before that, Adhithya and Vikash shared all the amount they robbed, and the next day, that is, on Friday, the gang escaped from the farmhouse.

At the same time, after everyone escaped from Kodumudi farmhouse, Adhithya prepared to burn the farmhouse and left. But those who got money to burn the farmhouse became unconscious due to heavy drinking, and they couldn't set the fire. Before that, Krishnakanth also went to that place. Since Adhithya and the gang decided to burn the whole place, they didn't try to erase the evidence.

Krishnakanth got their fingerprints and the bank bags in which the money was. All these became big evidence. With those fingerprints, Krishnakanth's police team found that the robbers were old criminals.

Not only the Erode police, post office investigation branch, and Tamil Nadu police, everyone together dealt with it.

One Week Later

One week after this incident, that is, on August 14, 1963, Krishnakanth arrested Jordan. In the next few months and years, his team arrested all the criminals (including the South Coast Raiders gang members).

EPILOGUE

"In 1968, they arrested the mastermind of this case, Adhithya, and most of them got 30 years imprisonment. If you ask everyone who was in jail, it means no. Half of them escaped from the jail. If I say about that, I should write another story called Prison Escape. In this case, till the end of that post office train, that black sheep who worked as a senior security officer, retired loco pilot, both of them were not identified. They have robbed 639 crores worth of money. It was a very big amount. And that too, everything happened in just 30 minutes. Even though we can appreciate those criminals in a way. You may think why we should appreciate them for doing such a big crime. They have robbed an imaginable amount of money. But other than the fireman and loco pilot, no one experienced physical violence. Like that, they have planned everything perfectly. Why I am saying this means we have seen people like psycho sappani who murder for 5000 and 10,000. When we think about that there are no casualties in such a big robbery, I think it's a very big matter. It is recorded that it was the first big robbery in a train. After this incident, the Indian government started increasing the protection for Indian goods trains. Till now, this case is one of the most unforgettable for the Tamil Nadu police.

So Readers. What do you think about these criminals and robbery? Comment your opinions down without forgetting and share this story with your friends and family who love money heist series. If you are reading this story till now without liking, then give a like.

 

 

 

 



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