Man caught with rail track clips

CHENNAI: A man who had stolen components from the EMU tracks on Monday was arrested by the railway police. An RPF team came across L Murugan (23) of  T Nagar, as he was hurrying away from the tracks between Mambalam and Saidapet stations with sections of railway pandrol clips. “These clips are what bind the track to the concrete sleepers underneath. Without those clips, there is a good chance that a fast train could derail” said an RPF official.  The theft was detected at 5.30 am, so no trains had yet travelled on those tracks. This is the third such case in the past four months, with the robbers being apprehended. Inquiry revealed that Murugan was a school drop-out and a drug abuser who had been convicted for theft and assault earlier, a source said.