Dippy Vankani for Mumbai Mirror

The thief had struck at Kalbadevi, and was trying to get on a train to Lucknow with the huge amount of cash in a bag

Mumbai, Jul 12: While frisking commuters on the anniversary of the serial train blasts at  the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), the Government Railway Police (GRP) caught a man carrying Rs 5.5 lakh in cash in an ordinary plastic bag.

Twenty-one-year-old Raju Chauhan and his accomplice had robbed an income tax consultant’s office at 1 am on Wednesday, and was making a quick getaway to Uttar Pradesh, his home state. The money was his share of the loot.

Raju Chauhan was carrying the money in 500-rupee notes in a blue polythene bag

A total of 134 GRP personnel were deployed at CST on Tuesday from 4 pm onwards. The brief was: frisk anyone and frisk as many.

“One of our sub-inspectors, Madhu Shinde, was patrolling the platforms with head constable Laxman Madne and police naik Baban,” says inspector Shashank Shinde of CST GRP, “At around 7:30 am, they found a youth hurrying along suspiciously. He looked like a pavement dweller and was sweating profusely.”

According to Shinde, Chauhan was carrying a blue polythene bag.

“The team frisked him and checked the plastic bag, in which they found Rs 5.50 lakh in 500-rupee notes and a portable radio,” says Shinde.

The team was shocked to find such a large amount of cash.

“They brought Chauhan to our police station and asked him where he got the money from,” says Shinde, “Initially, he tried to beat around the bush, but confessed to the burglary that took place in the office of an income tax consultant.” The office at Om Shanti Bhavan on Babu Geni Road in Kalbadevi belongs to Shantilal Shah, a Santacruz resident. A total of Rs 10 lakh was stolen from there.

Chauhan also spilled the beans on his partner-in-crime, Vijay Gupta.

Both Chauhan and Gupta lived on the pavement opposite Irani hotel near Musafir Khana. “The Rs 10 lakh was divided into Rs 5.50 lakh for Chauhan and Rs 4.50 lakh for Gupta,” says Shinde, “The two went their separate ways after that.”

Chauhan, a native of Lucknow, bought a ticket to Lucknow on Pushpak Express which was to leave at 8 am on Wednesday. Gupta, also from Uttar Pradesh, left for his state via a different route. Shinde says they are now on the lookout for Gupta.