Kurla Railway Police have solved three cases of mobile theft in the past fortnight, leading to the arrest of four men and recovery of 20 phones worth ₹4.5 lakh.
While 19 mobiles were pickpocketed, one of them involved a robbery at knifepoint between Kanjurmarg and Vikhroli stations. The incident occured July 24 at 5.50 p.m. when Samir Sheikh and his brother were walking along the tracks between the two stations.
According to police, the accused, Vicky Kunchikarve (28) and Shoaib Anwar Sheikh (19), stole Mr. Samir Sheikh’s phone worth ₹15,000 at knifepoint. Based on leads from informants, the police arrested Mr. Kunchikarve later that day. Mr. Kunchikarve led them to Mr. Sheikh, from whose residence they recovered the phone and the knife.
The railway police also recovered 15 mobile phones worth nearly ₹2.2 lakh from Ketan Mehta, who used to steal phones while people were boarding or getting off local trains. “He would normally operate between Dombivali and Kurla, but was caught in the act on July 23 at Vikhroli station,” an official with the Kurla Government Railway Police said.
The railway police found seven stolen mobile phones on the accused, and on searching his house, recovered eight more. In the last case, the Kurla railway police recovered four iPhones worth ₹2.32 lakh and arrested two persons.
Police said they received a tip-off from their informants about the duo operating at Ghatkopar station. Using CCTV footage, they first nabbed Amjad Sheikh and after interrogating him, arrested his partner Tausif Khan. Investigations revealed that Mr. Khan had prior crime records and had been banished from the city.
