Identical twins arrested for mobile thefts on Mumbai’s local trains

According to police, while one twin would keep a watch on the victim, the other would snatch the mobile phone and jump off the train.

A day after a 53-year-old commuter died after falling off a running train while chasing a mobile thief, the Churchgate government railway police (GRP) arrested 19-year-old identical twins and a woman on Monday.

According to the GRP, the two – Satyam and Shivam Krishna Singh, residents of Nallasopara – are serial offenders. (HT Photo)

According to the GRP, the two – Satyam and Shivam Krishna Singh, residents of Nallasopara – are serial offenders. While one of them would keep a watch on the victim, the other would snatch the mobile phone and jump off the train. They attempted something similar on Sunday, with Shakil Gaffar Shaikh, a resident of Goregaon, who boarded a Churchgate-bound slow train. As the train reached Charni Road station, one of the two accused snatched his mobile phone worth ₹17,000 from his hand and jumped off the train. Shaikh started to follow the thief, but fell on the tracks and was run over by a train coming from the opposite direction. He was rushed to GT Hospital where he was declared dead. “We have registered a case of mobile robbery and culpable homicide not amounting to murder,” said Purshottam Karad, deputy commissioner of police (GRP).

“On reaching his house, we found that Satyam had a twin brother who was wearing the same T-shirt as the robber in the CCTV image,” he said.

While Shivam has 17 cases against him, Satyam has two cases. “Satyam had helped

Shivam sold Shaikh’s mobile phone, so we arrested him too,” said Karad. The police also arrested one Firoza Khan, 40, from Masjid Bunder, for buying the phone.