Man loses phone on local train, finds it after thief is hit by another

Police say complaint was filed barely an hour before

In a bizarre case, a man who had his phone stolen from a local train, recovered it after the suspected thief died barely an hour later after being hit by a local train. The victim, Arif Sheikh (22), was hit by a train between Cotton Green and Reay Road stations around 7.30 a.m. on November 12.

Sheikh was taken to JJ Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. As the Wadala railway police were making investigations to ascertain his identity, they found a black iPhone 7 in his pocket, which led them to Chirag Gupta.

‘Fell asleep’

Mr. Gupta’s phone was stolen that very morning and he had registered a complaint with Wadala railway police station. He had boarded the train at 5.19 a.m. from Vashi and was on his way home in Ghatkopar, and had fallen asleep.

When he woke up at 5.53 a.m. near Sewri station, he realised that his iPhone had been flicked from his pocket. He then went to Wadala railway police station to file his complaint.

Police official said that the recovery of the iPhone from Sheikh’s pockets fit the description of the complaint, which had been filed barely an hour ago. “On checking the phone’s SIM and IMEI number, it was confirmed that it was the same phone, after which we contacted Mr. Gupta,” an official said.