The Vasai region railway police has arrested a middle-aged man from Virar railway station for allegedly stealing bags of passengers travelling in the Mumbai local trains. Six cellphones and seven laptops have been recovered from the accused.
Kayyum Shakil Ahmed Khan (45), a resident of Virar (west), was produced in court on Friday. He was sent to police custody till January 11. He was arrested on January 6. The railway police had acted following a complaint from Narendra Haushila Tiwari, a resident of Malvani area of Malad, on January 2. Mr Tiwari had filed a complaint that someone had stolen his bag while travelling in the train.
According to the complaint, Mr Tiwari was travelling in a Churchgate fast train on January 2 from Virar in a first-class compartment. He had his laptop bag along with him. After keeping the bag on the baggage rack in the compartment, he got busy talking on his cellphone. After a few minutes, he realised his bag was missing and approached the police over it.
Checking the footage of Virar railway station’s platform number one from where Mr Tiwari had boarded his train, railway police officials noticed a suspicious person following Mr Tiwari. Later, on January 6 they noticed the same person on Virar railway platform, following which they immediately nabbed him. It turned out to be Khan.
Following Khan’s questioning, officials recovered six cellphones in a dustbin at Nallasopara railway station, valued at around Rs 1.15 lakh. A search of Khan’s house saw officials recovered seven laptops of several companies worth around Rs 2,20,000.
According to the officials, Khan wanted to sell these electronic goods and was looking to fetch a good price for them. A source from railway police told The Asian Age that officials suspect that Khan may not be the only person involved in the crime and he must have had a partner. A search is on to find Khan’s partner.
