The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has arrested a 32-year-old man who was allegedly caught on camera trying to snatch a commuter’s cell phone last month.
According to Crime Branch officers, the video, which went viral on August 18, showed a man standing near the railway tracks and lunging at the cell phone of a passenger aboard the Matsyagandha Express.
The commuter, who was taking a video from the window, managed to prevent his cell phone from being snatched. The entire incident was recorded on the phone and the clip went viral on social media.
The commuter also superimposed text on the video and mentioned that the incident took place just after the train crossed Thane station. He urged all commuters to be careful. The video reached some Crime Branch officers and inquiries were initiated into the matter.
A Crime Branch officer said, “The video captured the man’s face quite clearly. We alerted our informants and earlier this week, one of them got back to us. He said that the man in the video worked as a watchman at Habib Hospital in Dongri.”
The suspect, identified as Ashraf Khan, was picked up from his workplace and taken to Unit IV for inquiries. Following interrogation, the police found out that he had been arrested in five cases of cell phone snatching.
The officer said, “The accused, after getting bail in these cases, had failed to appear for subsequent court hearings. He had been declared an absconding accused by the trial court in two of the cases. He also confessed to committing five more offences of a similar nature.” The Crime Branch will be filing applications in court regarding his arrest. He will be handed over to the police stations concerned in connection with the five other thefts.
