While travelling on Mumbai's crowded local trains, one should be alert of theft. At least, one should be careful when standing on footboards while their mobile phones remain in their hands. Such careless passengers are now becoming targets of the “Jhatka gang,” which steals mobile phones. The gang members sit near the railway tracks to snatch phones or valuables from passengers standing at the doors of local and express trains.
Last week, Gaurav Nikam (22) was struck on the hand with a stick by a thief sitting between Shahad and Ambivali in an attempt to steal his mobile phone. His phone fell, and he lost his balance, falling from the train's footboards. His left leg went under the wheels, and he was seriously injured, after receiving the information, Government Railway Police (GRP) rushed Gaurav to the hospital and arrested the thief from Irani Basti in Kalyan's Ambivali.
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In another incident, Jagan Jangle, who works at a book depot in Dadar, was struck on the hand by a Jhatka Gang member near Kalwa Railway station to steal his mobile phone. Jagan lost his balance and fell from the local. He lost both legs after falling under the wheels of the local train last year, just three months after getting married.
The 'Jhatka gang' stay hidden in certain areas near the railway tracks of the Mumbai–Kasara and Mumbai–Karjat routes. They sit on the tracks, waiting for victims to attack them. Despite several efforts, police have been unable to fully curb their activities. Following the recent incident, Central Railway has decided to install CCTV cameras in seven crime-prone areas along the tracks, including near major sites on the Central line. These thieves are often gangsters and drug addicts who hide in high places and, as trains pass, strike passengers’ hands with sticks to snatch their phones.
Railway police are regularly conducting special patrols near Titwala, Ambivali, Shahad and Vashi station areas. They also gathering information from intelligence on slum areas adjacent to railway tracks