Three held for stealing rail track at Willingdon Island

Kochi: Railway protection force (RPF) arrested three men for stealing nearly 500m of disused railway track from the high-security premises of Cochin Port Authority on Willingdon Island.The accused, Kochi natives Thajudeen and Afsal, and migrant labourer Chandrashekhar Malik, were former contract workers familiar with the port layout.Following a tip-off, an RPF team led by Ernakulam south inspector Binoy Antony intercepted a rented truck on Aluva Market Road, seizing 400 cut pieces of the track and gas cutters. More stolen sections were later recovered from NDA Road in Kalamassery. Investigators revealed the iron rails were bound for scrap dealers in Tamil Nadu.The missing line was part of an abandoned siding connecting the port’s Q9 Berth and was estimated to be worth nearly Rs 15 lakh. The culprits systematically severed the rails from their concrete sleepers over a period of time and smuggled them out through a rear gate.The incident raised serious security concerns as the entry-restricted zone is heavily guarded by CISF and port security. The suspects, traced via CCTV footage, were produced before Ernakulam chief judicial magistrate court and remanded in judicial custody.