CR plans safety measures after woman commuter is injured during mobile phone theft

The development comes in the wake of a theft on the CR last week that left 23-year-old Mumbai resident Dravita Singh with serious injuries

With rising instances of thefts on railway tracks, the government railway police (GRP) team of the central railway (CR) has deployed three officers from each unit for patrolling during peak hours.

Dravita Singh.

The CR has eight GRP units, each controlling 3-4 stations. The development comes in the wake of a theft on the CR last week that left 23-year-old Dravita Singh with serious injuries. Singh lost her foot and three fingers as she fell onto the tracks after being hit by a stick by a robber perched on the railway pole.

“The crowd in trains during peak hours forces people to travel on footboards, making them vulnerable to attacks by robbers. After Singh’s mishap, we have tightened patrolling on the tracks,” said Sanjay Shinde, senior officer from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) GRP.

The police have also started to round up regular offenders and suspects. A case in point could be Vivek Dubey, 22, who used to target commuters near Kurla station to rob their purses and mobile phones. Arrested for three thefts, Dubey was externed from the city for two years. Dubey returned to the city six months before his time, however, the GRP rearrested him on Sunday.

Machindra Chavan, assistant commissioner of police (GRP), said “CCTVs at railway platforms don’t cover railway tracks, where robbers usually hide. Officers from each GRP police station across the CR will now patrol the tracks. We are also rounding up thieves in our jurisdiction and slapping chapter cases against them as an additional precaution.”

Meanwhile, the GRP officials from CSMT, who are investigating Singh’s case, said Raja Pal alias Ajay, 26, who was accompanying the 17-year-old teenager when he attacked Singh, said he took to robbery as he needed money for drugs. “He taught the tricks to the minor,” said Shinde.