GRP busts mobile thief gang

Mumbai: Following a spate incidents involving snatching of mobile phones of train commuters standing on the footboard and sitting at the entry of outstation trains, the Government Railway Police (GRP) busted a gang of five thieves and recovered 20 allegedly stolen phones from them. The accused are involved in at least 10 cases of mobile thefts, said GRP sources. They would stand at a spot near Kalyan station where trains slowed down and strike commuters' hands and flee with their phones.

The accused would operate in groups and had accomplices to whom they would sell the phones. These groups had become a menace with number of complaints pouring in with similar modus operandi involved in it. The GRP launched a manhunt after Yogesh Jadhav, who was sitting at the entrance of Sinhagad Express train experienced the same incident on March 27.

Several teams of the railway police were formed for apprehending the accused. The police received a tip off that the crime was committed by Ajit Zhade alias Khandya, 19 and Deepak Thokal alias Motha Tirri, 20, both residents of Kalyan. The police apprehended the duo from Waldhuni bridge area where they had assembled to plan their next hit.

 “The accused were seen walking near the railway bridge from where there is access to the tracks.”