It sounds ridiculous, but it's true that the Jabalpur division of Western Central Railway has lost 1100 of the 1800 steel mugs aka lotas used in the lavatories in last three months.

Reuters

According to a report published in The Telegraph, the Jabalpur Division of West Central Railway, the stealing of the lota is so rampant that the chains meant to secure them too couldn't save them from the hands of thieves. Earlier such mugs or lotas were only provided only in a few bathrooms of AC coaches, but recently Railways decided to allocate these lotas in all compartment, but stealing of lotas certainly indicates that the department had no clue that this small item is so popular with thieves.

A railway official told The Telegraph that within 36 hours, 60 new mugs went missing from a Delhi-bound train from Jabalpur. From ceiling lights to curtains to blankets, many objects have been coveted by passengers on trains but the popularity of the lota remains unbeatable.

Toilets were introduced on Indian Railways after a heart-wrenching crisis faced by a commuters in 1909. He complained to the then British Raj in a letter detailing his travails. The document is now on display at the railway museum in New Delhi.