Bhagalpur: A Railway Protection Force (RPF) team under the Malda railway division of Eastern Railway (ER) arrested two bootleggers and seized illicit liquor bottles from their possession at Bhagalpur railway station on Monday.The arrested duo, travelling in the Dumka–Bhagalpur Express, was supposed to deliver the illicit liquor to middlemen at the station. The joint raid was conducted under the supervision of Malda DRM Manish Kumar Gupta and other officials.Speaking to TNN on Monday, the DRM said railway officials, along with the RPF, had intensified surveillance and regular checking drives across the Malda division to curb crime and ensure passenger safety.Multiple operations at Bhagalpur railway station since Saturday led to the arrest of several bootleggers operating through trains running across three states—West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar—under the Malda division.Acting on a tip-off about alcohol smuggling, a joint team of the RPF and railway officials arrested two persons from a train and another from platform number 4 at Bhagalpur railway station, he added.He said cash and a stolen cellphones worth around Rs15,000 were also recovered from the third person. Legal action has been initiated against all the arrested bootleggers.The DRM added that railway officials and the RPF remained committed to preventing crime and ensuring safe and secure travel for passengers. “Our joint raids will continue across railway sections under the Malda division to stop illegal activities,” he said, adding that ticket-checking drives to curb ticketless travel had also been intensified.
