Four persons, including three women, have been arrested at different metro stations for allegedly picking the pockets of passengers on board trains.
Those arrested have been identified as Javed (24), Sanjeeda (24), Reeta (20) and Anju (20). While Reeta and Anju stay in a jhuggi-jhonpri cluster in Raghubir Nagar, Sanjeeda lives in a slum-cluster in Tri Nagar.
Javed, a resident of Sunder Nagari “J” Block, was caught red-handed while he was trying to pick the pocket of a passenger inside a metro train at Kashmere Gate metro station on December 10. The victim approached the police staff and the accused was arrested. Two mobile phones were recovered from his possession and a case was registered.
The three women were arrested at Shastri Park metro station while trying to pick the pocket of a passenger inside a train.
The accused purportedly told the police that they would sneak into metro trains and pick the pockets of passengers taking advantage of the crowded coaches.
Special drive
The menace of pickpockets inside the metro trains is rampant and the Kashmere Gate-Rajiv Chowk stretch on the Yellow Line is the worst hit. In a major drive against the pickpockets this past year, a Central Industrial Security Force team had arrested 21 women for allegedly attempting to pick pockets and steal from women passengers, especially in the exclusive women compartments. The accused arrested were in the age group of 18-35 years and hailed from slums in different parts of the Capital.
The interrogation of the accused had revealed that these women usually travelled along with children in an attempt to disguise themselves as normal passengers. With the help of these children, these women also diverted the attention of the passengers and carried out the thefts.
