Vehicle theft continues to be a significant problem in various regions of our country. Several incidents have been witnessed wherein vehicles are daringly stolen during the day times. The thieves are even using advanced technologies, making it an increasingly effortless task.
However, In this article, we will be discussing a different kind of theft, which is very rare when it comes to vehicle theft. Recently, it was reported that a huge train engine worth Rs 5 crore got stolen while being transported by road.
Reports surfaced online, saying that the subcontractor was behind this theft. Considering the size and the vehicle being a train, the news had gone viral in a few days. However, the stolen engine was found and brought back to Mumbai.
The incident happened as follows; Shri JB Grain Dealers secured a contract from the Railways to transport a train engine from Mumbai to Kalka in Haryana and return. The contractor assigned the transportation duties to a sub-contractor, Radha Roadways on April 27 for a fee of Rs 4.25 lakh.
After successfully delivering the train engine from Mumbai to Kalka, the truck was loaded with another ZDM 3 train engine, valued at Rs. 5 crore, which was intended to be transported from Kalka to Mumbai.
Both parties had already signed an agreement, in which the JB Grain Dealers, provided an initial advance of Rs 2 lakh to the sub-contractor on April 29. Subsequently, an additional Rs 1 lakh was paid on May 6, and another Rs 1 lakh was paid on May 19.
After the payment, JB Grain Dealers anticipated the timely delivery of the engine. However, upon discovering that the engine had not been delivered as per the agreed-upon deadline, they conducted an inquiry with the officials at Kalka.
Post enquiry they came to know that the engine had been loaded onto the truck as scheduled, but it had not reached Mumbai as expected. When enquired with Mr Sharma, owner of Radha Roadways, replied that the contractor had not paid the outstanding amount of Rs 25,000.
Mr Gupta, the owner of JB Grain Dealers, believed that the remaining amount would be settled only after the engine’s successful delivery. On the other hand, Mr Sharma demanded an additional Rs 60,000 and requested that the excess dues be cleared first.
On July 2, Gupta went to the Wadala TT police station and filed a complaint against Sharma under sections 406 (breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code. The police immediately took action and summoned Sharma.
Later the authorities found that the engine was kept at a petrol station in Rajasthan and post recovery the ZDM 3 engine was taken to Mumbai. The root cause of the dispute between the two contractors was an engine failure during transport from the Parel workshop to Kalka in April.
This was indeed one of a kind incident and even the police were surprised to hear about this case. The incident raises questions about security and logistics in the transportation sector highlighting the need for better monitoring and tracking systems.
