A child was found in a shopping bag on a moving train, which led to the suspicion of child theft at Birati station on Wednesday.

Local residents and passengers protested, blocking train movement for some time. Allegedly, a female passenger was carrying a child in a shopping bag on a train from Duttapukur to Sealdah. This aroused suspicion among the other passengers. They accused the woman of child theft. Subsequently, passengers got off at Birati station and handed the woman over to the railway police. They also started a protest demanding an investigation.

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Several people demonstrated on the railway tracks, halting train services for a while. The railway police eventually brought the situation under control, and train services resumed later in the day.

Passengers on the train from Duttapukur to Sealdah claimed that the accused woman boarded the ladies’ compartment with a hand bag and a shopping bag. After the train started moving, some passengers noticed a one-year-old child covered with cloth inside the shopping bag. At one point, the child started crying loudly. This led other passengers in the ladies’ compartment to raise an alarm. When the train reached Birati station, the accused woman tried to escape, leading to a scuffle with fellow passengers. The passengers then handed over the woman and the child to the Government Railway Police (GRP). This incident created a commotion at Birati station, with passengers staging protests on the station premises. The railway police had a tough time managing the situation and local police also arrived at the scene. Gradually, the situation was brought under control. An investigation has been launched to determine from where did the woman bring the child and where was she heading to. The woman is also being interrogated, according to railway police sources.

According to train passenger Subhash Mandal, “The child was inside the bag. After the child started crying, the other passengers in the ladies’ compartment restrained the woman. At Birati station, she was handed over to the police. We blocked the train in protest, but later lifted the blockade.”

It is noteworthy that the discovery of a child in a bag on the train has led many to believe that the rumours of child-lifting across the district are true. Passengers claim that administrative failure is the reason such incidents are occurring.