Pick pocketing is an art ?

Thief on train steals 4 mobiles in 45 minutes

By Nitasha Natu, TNN | Dec 21, 2012

MUMBAI: A thief, Aamir Mohammad Shaikh, stole four cellphones belonging to Central Railway(CR) commuters on Wednesday.

When Shaikh tried to pick his fourth victim's wallet, he was caught. According to theGovernment Railway Police (GRP), Shaikh may have targeted other travellers too.

The accused is a resident of Nityanand Nagar in Ghatkopar. Around 8pm on Wednesday, Shaikh boarded a train headed for Badlapur at Vidyavihar station and surveilled all passengers. Between Vidyavihar and Ghatkopar stations, he stole Subhedar Tiwari's cellphone (22). Tiwari (22) did not realize this and Shaikh swiftly moved to a corner.

Around 8.10pm, Shaikh struck once again in the same compartment and robbed Sanjay Mane (35) of his handset between Ghatkopar and Mulund stations. Twenty minutes later, Shaikh made away with Anandprakash Mishra's cellphone and alighted from the train at Thane station. According to the police, Shaikh later boarded a CST-bound train. Around 8.45pm when the train reached Mulund station, Shaikh pocketed Anant Chavan's cellphone.

The accused also saw Chavan's wallet sticking out of his pocket and decided to take it too. However, Chavan caught him red-handed and dragged him out of the compartment. GRP officials arrested the accused. He was brought to the Kurla GRP chowky where the four stolen cellphones and a wallet were recovered. "Each cellphone had been switched off to avoid detection," a police official said.

On Thursday, Shaikh was produced before a railway court.