Patna, Jan 9 (IANS): Ten passengers in a general, unreserved compartment of the Delhi-Patna Shramjeevi Express were Monday found drugged at Danapur railway station near Patna and their valuables worth Rs.150,000 stolen, police said.

The valuables included cash, cell phones, wrist watches and other belongings. The passengers were admitted at Danapur railway hospital where three of them are said to be unconscious.

Ram Pukar Singh, a railway police official at Patna junction, said there has been a rise in cases of poor passengers being drugged.

"The gang members first befriend the passengers on long distance trains. They offer tea, coffee, biscuits or other eatables laced with sedatives or intoxicants. When their prey becomes unconscious, they steal all the valuables," he said.

According to a railway official at East Central Railway Zone headquarters near here, over 300 passengers were found drugged in Bihar on trains last year.

"Drug menace has become rampant during festivals, particularly on Delhi-Patna and Kolkata-Patna routes. Over 100 incidents of drugging of passengers were reported in Bihar during 2010," he said.