Chennai: A 23-year-old Coast Guard constable traveling in Howrah Mail was roughed up and robbed of his bag containing laptop and cash by a gang near Korukkupet railway station during early hours of Sunday. The victim, Aslif, a native of Manjeri town in Malappuram district, was traveling to Chennai from Kolkatta, where he is posted. He was travelling in the upper berth in coach S2, police said.

“Around 3.30 am, I woke up to break my Ramadan fast and for prayer when I noticed a young boy stealing my phone which was put on charge,” Aslif told DC. As the train had halted at Korukkupet railway station, Aslif chased after the boy jumping on the platform.

When he caught hold of him, four others joined the boy. “All of them appeared to be in their teens. They started attacking me with knives and pushed me on to the tracks and fled the place with my bag,” Aslif recalled. The passengers came to the aid of the injured Aslif only after he was pushed onto the tracks, police said. A laptop, passport, identity cards and cash worth Rs 15, 000 were in the bag.

Aslif filed a complaint at Basin bridge railway station after which the Government Railway police moved him to the Government Stanley Hospital for treatment. “He was badly roughed up and had bruises on his face. He was treated as an outpatient and administered sutures on his arm,” a police officer said. Aslif later left for his native village.

Railway police have formed special teams to trace the gang, which attacked the constable. “Going by the description of the victim, we suspect the attackers to be boys from nearby slums,” said a railway police officer adding that the boys had thrown the mobile phone away as they were aware that the cops would track the phone. Government Railway Police (central) have registered a case and are investigating.