From Towels to Blankets: 1.27 Crore Indian Railway Bedroll Items Stolen By Passengers Since 2022, RTI Reveals

An investigation by The Indian Express, based on Right to Information (RTI) replies from Railway divisions across the country, has uncovered a staggering trend: at least 1.27 crore bedroll items have been stolen between January 2022 and May 2026, with thefts rising 56% from 2022 to 2025.

Every night, nearly eight lakh passengers travelling in air-conditioned coaches across the Indian Railways network receive complimentary bedroll kits containing bedsheets, blankets, pillows, pillow covers and face towels. While most travellers return these items after completing their journey, a surprising number quietly take them home.

An investigation by The Indian Express, based on Right to Information (RTI) replies from Railway divisions across the country, has uncovered a staggering trend: at least 1.27 crore bedroll items have been stolen between January 2022 and May 2026, with thefts rising 56% from 2022 to 2025.

The newspaper filed RTI applications with all 69 Railway divisions. Responses were received from 54 divisions spanning 16 of the 18 Railway zones, although several provided only partial data.

Railway officials said the overwhelming majority of missing linen is believed to have been taken by passengers rather than misplaced during operations.

The theft has inflicted an estimated loss of Rs 104.51 crore over the four-year period, according to the RTI data. Contractors responsible for supplying and maintaining the linen claim the financial burden often falls on coach attendants, with the cost of missing items deducted from their salaries.

A Ministry of Railways spokesperson described the issue as one of "serious concern" and said "efforts are being made to prevent linen theft and take action against offenders". The spokesperson also stated that the Railways "cannot establish" any evidence of staff collusion in the theft.

Rajasthan, Delhi among worst-hit divisions

The investigation found that 10 Railway divisions across seven zones accounted for 67% of all reported linen thefts. These include Bikaner, Jodhpur and Jaipur in Rajasthan, Ranchi, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Sonpur, Danapur and Bilaspur.

Among them, Bikaner emerged as the worst affected, reporting 25.76 lakh stolen items, followed by Ranchi (9.31 lakh) and Delhi (8.21 lakh). Mumbai (8.17 lakh), Jodhpur (8.09 lakh), Ahmedabad (6.94 lakh) and Danapur (5.72 lakh) also recorded significant thefts.

Towels emerge as the most stolen item

The RTI data shows that face towels are the most frequently stolen railway linen item, with 46.54 lakh pieces going missing over the four-year period. They are followed by bedsheets (41.13 lakh), pillow covers (23.59 lakh), blankets (12.95 lakh) and pillows (2.76 lakh).

The pattern, however, varies across divisions. While towels dominate thefts in Delhi, Ranchi, Mumbai, Danapur, Ahmedabad and Jaipur, bedsheets account for nearly half of all missing linen in Bikaner. Pillow covers are stolen the most in Sonpur and Bilaspur, while blankets are the primary target in Jodhpur, where more than 3.4 lakh have disappeared.

Sharp rise in some divisions, decline in others

The RTI responses reveal dramatic spikes in thefts across several divisions. Bikaner witnessed the biggest surge, with thefts climbing from 2.99 lakh items in 2022 to 12.34 lakh in 2025. Sonpur also recorded a steep increase, rising from 36,448 to 3.01 lakh stolen items.

Other divisions reporting sharp jumps include Danapur, where thefts rose by 91%, Dhanbad (91%), Ranchi (45%) and Jodhpur (46%).

In contrast, Delhi registered a significant improvement, reducing linen theft by 79%, while Ahmedabad and Samastipur recorded declines of 83% and 86%, respectively.

Notably, Tiruchirappalli and Palakkad divisions reported no linen theft, while Adra also recorded zero cases as it operates only freight services without AC passenger coaches.

Contractors and attendants bear the cost

While the missing linen belongs to the Railways, its supply and management are outsourced to private contractors, who say the losses have become increasingly difficult to absorb.

"Generally linen (items) are collected by linen attendants after de-boarding of passengers from trains. The responsibility of account of linens in Railway coaches is of the agency who has been deployed for linen distribution. For any shortage, cost recovery is done from the bills of the agency," the Railways spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that "due to theft of linen, additional linen sets are required to meet the shortfall".

Several contractors told The Indian Express that repeated losses have forced them to rethink their business. One contractor said the financial strain became so severe that the company terminated its Railway contract before completion.

"The theft of linen is a real problem for us," said a supervisor of a bedroll distribution firm in the Solapur division of Central Railway.

"A significant portion of the earnings is deducted from the bill for these cases. We had a three-year contract with the Railways, but we had to end it in 14 months due to delay in payment. We had deployed around 60 staff in coaches for the distribution in 5 trains. For every stolen item, they recover Rs 115 for pillow, Rs 198 for bedsheet, Rs 55 for pillow cover, Rs 48 for face towel and Rs 343 for blanket," the supervisor said.

Under a 2015 Railway Board circular, the cost of missing linen is recovered based on the item's remaining service life. If the item is lost before completing half of its codal life, the contractor bears 100% of its purchase cost. The recovery falls to 50% after that point, or 75% if the service life cannot be determined.

A linen attendant working on a superfast train under East Central Railway said the repeated deductions have become routine, prompting staff to distribute towels only when specifically requested.

"There are seven attendants in this train, with each managing an AC coach. We are paid on a daily basis, and I get Rs 700 for a day’s work. So if I work for 30 days without a break, I am entitled to about Rs 21,000 in a month. But that doesn’t happen because every month around 2,000-3,000 is deducted for linen theft. During March and April, 17 bedsheets, three blankets, and nine pillows were lost on my watch," the attendant said.

The investigation notes that the reported figures may still underestimate the true scale of the problem. The RTI exercise did not include South Coast Railway, a newly formed zone, or Kolkata Metro, which does not operate conventional AC trains. Moreover, several responding divisions did not provide complete theft or cost data, suggesting that the actual financial loss is likely higher than the estimated Rs 104.51 crore.