Foreigners robbed in train

gluedtoweb

See the following news item from "The Telegraph"
Be careful guys.

Foreigners robbed in train
varanasi (PTI): Three foreign tourists on board the Marudhar Express were on Sunday robbed of their cash and valuables worth several lakhs of rupees, railway sources said.

Diana Nielson and Nolders Kevver of the Netherlands and Peter Anay of Australia were in separate coaches on their way here from Jaipur.

The burglars lifted their luggage near Akbarpur station near Faizabad district, the sources said.

The three have lodged an FIR with the railway police, the sources said, adding that besides cash — both in Indian and foreign currency — travellers cheques and cameras were stolen.

Bryan

Stop press three men gunned down in my home town at the weekend
I'll take my chances on the Indian trains thankyou very much

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cyberhippie

Cash and TCs? Was this a hold up or an opportunist grab and run. If it was the latter I'm asking myself why cash and TCs were in their luggage???
It should have been in a money belt on their person!!
I'm a cynical old git sometimes but when I read this thing the first thing that sprung to mind was and insurence scam but then maybe I'm wrong.
Anyway cash, TCs, flight tickets and credit cards should be on your person at all times when your travelling!! Not stored in your luggage, this is info is pretty much out there as every forum and guide book will tell you this!!

oldhippie

These guys must have looked like a bunch of suckers. I am truly surprised that they were not American.

I met an American couple at a cop station in Mumbai a few weeks ago who had been robbed. These fools had $8000 in Amex TCs along with cash in their packs and a taxi drive drove off with their gear while they were eating Bhel Puri at Chowpatty. They told the cab driver to be careful with their packs since all their money was in them...LOL ..Makes you wonder why he took off.

The most ridiculous thing was they were carrying the purchase receipts of their TCs with their TCs and kept arguing with me that this is normal.

Bill

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Alan D

Although the details in the news report are a bit lacking, I agree with the previous posters on this.

It is difficult to believe how careless some people can be. As there is no mention of violence in these robberies it seems safe to assume that cash, TC's and other valuables were not on their persons.

Assuming that they have insurance cover it will still take days or weeks to claim and have everything replaced - not something that enhances a journey through India.

Never, never, travel on an Indian train, especially a night sleeper, without having your valuables in a safe place, and I don't mean in your pack, underneath the seat.

Shiver me Timbers

Agreed. Another bloody Halloween in Dublin - 2 fatal stabbings, 1 shooting.
And I'm sure, plenty of robberies on the trains.

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himadventures

Well-everyone knows about Indian trains.
1. Always travel in A/C coach. This is usualy clean and people along with you are elite class.

2. As Allan D. Says- make sure your baggage is secured with lock and you are not leaving anything open.

3. Do not take anything from anyone to eat or drink.

4. Do not show off money. Most people do not know this and put thier dollars/cheques etc etc on display.


I had gone through a incident-couple of years back,I boarded a train from Delhi and met a German guy who's beggage was stolen right infront of my eyes-but even I could not understand what happen.

Everything happens so fast-that even I could not see who's hand picked up his small sack which he kept on upper birth.

He was all in tears-you know for what?
For that diary he wrote of all his traveling. His passport and some money had gone !

bijapuri

I am always amazed that there isn't more theft. Most of it sems to happen in the usual places: touristy scenes and situations.

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himadventures

There is always a elemant of carelessness when someone is robbed in train.
Even if we see a normal Inidan traveling overnight in train..he will take extra extra care about his belongings..all of them use metal key chain and they keep strict eye on who is sitting in thier compartment.

Best option is to book in air conditioned coach !

ak973

I think it is wise to keep valuable things like ur wallet, passport and other docs on person rather than with ur luggage. We hv never experienced anything of this sort in our trips to India. So dont hv much inputs on this one.

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nomadelmundo

i always sleep my legs on my 35L backpack in the tiers... now, i know if you are hauling around big luggages that may not be feasible... then again, why would you be in india with big luggages with your cash in it ...

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Slinky

I have travelled all over the world and there is only one occassion where it all went horribly wrong and everything (and I do mean everything) was stolen - New York City, in an internet cafe...right under my nose and I didn't even realise as I happily typed away. Safety of self and property is not so much about location as it is about attention!

P.S. If this happens to anyone else, don't panic...it is actually very liberating to lose everything you own and be forced to reassess...easily said in hindsight - the trick is to just breath and imagine you are in a monty python sketch.

dani

Every time I read such advise, I wonder how one can secure a backpack with a lock.
Maybe you can enlighten my poor mind?

chathuri

I had the same question...back pack has so many compartments you need a dozen padlocks!
in Nepal i saw a cover bag to which you can put your back pack. Cover bag has a zip and padlock and a handle which can be chained to the train seat as well. It helps you to keep to bag away from dust and dirt as well...but still some body can cut the bag..it's made out of thick but light synthetic material like nylon.

Alan D

Hi dani!

For the record, I have to say that himadventures has mistakenly attributed this quote to me.

We normally just shove our backpacks under the bottom seat on the train. After a few weeks of travelling on local buses, where they also often go underneath the seats or in the aisle and are walked over by many passengers I don't think they look a likely prospect for a professional thief.

Not that it couldn't happen, but so far, in many thousands of kilometers, we've had no problems.

I did make the point that none of our valuable documents are left in our backpacks - we wouldn't want to face the total hassle of having to be issued with new passports by the British High Commission and replacement of our Amex travellers cheques.

I suppose if you want to be extra careful, then the steel cable underneath the seat, which is provided for securing luggage, could be passed between the frame of the pack and the pack itself.