MP Police ask Rajasthan cops to be ‘watchful’ about pickpockets at Congress's ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’

Madhya Pradesh Police wrote to their Rajasthan counterparts, saying that pickpockets had struct during the last stretch of Congress's ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in Madhya Pradesh, which ended last week.

As the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congress MP and the party's former president Rahul Gandhi continues in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh Police have alerted their counterparts in the northern state about pickpockets targetting people participating in the march, news agency PTI reported on Sunday citing an official.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel reaches Mhow, the birthplace of Dr BR Ambedkar, during the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra, in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. (ANI Photo)(AICC)

Police said pickpockets had struck during the yatra's last stretch in Madhya Pradesh in Agar Malwa district. Superintendent of Police, Agar Malwa, Rakesh Kumar Sagar told PTI that nearly 10 pickpockets with some hailing from “Kota and Jhalawar in Rajasthan and some from Guna, Rajgarh, Shajapur and Raisen districts of Madhya Pradesh” were caught.

He added that the MP Police have written to their Rajasthan counterparts to be “watchful” of such incidents.

The official mentioned above, meanwhile, stated that five to six mobile phones were among several items recovered from the pick pocketers in Agar Malwa. He added that at least four to five people who participated in the yatra in the MP district complained of losing their valuables.

“The thefts mostly took place when lunch and dinner were served at the camps of the yatra,” the official said, as per the PTI report.

“We have been requesting people who have lost mobile phones to get their SIMs blocked so that when thieves insert new SIMs in these gadgets, we will be able to track them down,” the official was quoted as saying.

SP Kumar said the yatra was in Agar Malwa for three days and two nights, which was the longest during the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’s' Madhya Pradesh leg.

The yatra entered Rajasthan - the first time in a Congress-ruled state, on December 5. It has so far covered Kota and Jhalawar districts, among other regions. The march will cover nearly 500lm over 17 days in Rajasthan before entering Haryana on December 21.