GRP officers spend 3 nights at Andheri station to nab serial bag lifter

The accused, Munish Anish Mohammed (27), was arrested by the GRP officials on Monday night as he picked up a bag that belonged to S Nikam, senior police inspector of Andheri GRP.

Mumbai: Posing as passengers, a team of 15 officers from the Government Railway Police (GRP) spent three consecutive nights at Andheri railway station to catch a thief, who would arrive on his bullet bike and flee with bags of heavy-eyed passengers.

Nikam said that officers scanned CCTV footage of the station and noticed a man loitering around on days the commuters complained of theft. (Shashi S Kashyap/ HT PHOTO)

The accused, Munish Anish Mohammed (27), was arrested by the GRP officials on Monday night as he picked up a bag that belonged to S Nikam, senior police inspector of Andheri GRP.

In the past one month, Nikam said, they received over 10 complaints from commuters who said that while waiting for their train at the platform, their bags containing mobile phones, laptops and money were stolen.

Nikam said that officers scanned CCTV footage of the station and noticed a man loitering around on days the commuters complained of theft.

“We observed that all the thefts were taking place when the commuter fell asleep but the robber was never seen boarding or getting off any train,” said Nikam.

The police officers then scanned the CCTV footage of the entry and exit points and found Mohammed entering the station sans any luggage but he was seen leaving the station with a laptop bag just a few minutes later.

“Since Saturday night, a team of 15 officers, including women, had been keeping a watch on all 8 platforms by pretending to be asleep at different spots,” said Nikam.

“On Monday night, I was on platform number 5 near Churchgate end when I saw Mohammed approaching. He assumed I was asleep and tried to pick up my bag when I caught his hand and arrested him,” added Nikam.

On questioning Mohammed, the police found that he is a resident of Goregaon. “Mohammed is unemployed and has been committing thefts at railway stations for the past five months. He is wanted in several cases at Mumbai Central, Dadar and Borivali,” Nikam added.

“When questioned, Mohammed told the police that he needed money for his daily expenses, like petrol for his motorcycle and also to impress girls,” said Nikam.