Woman falls off moving Mumbai local after thief slaps her hand to steal phone

The thief, who is a minor, and the woman who bought the stolen phone have been arrested; 23-year-old survivor in hospital

A 23-year-old woman from Mumbai was injured severely after she fell off a moving local train when a thief hit her on the hand to steal her mobile phone while she was standing on the train’s footboard, on Wednesday.

23-year-old Dravita Singh fell off the moving train near Masjid Bunder station on Wednesday.

Government Railway Police (GRP) officials at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on Thursday arrested the thief, who is a minor, as well as a 25-year-old woman Ruksana, who bought the stolen phone from him.

The incident took place after Dravita Singh, a resident of Kalyan, boarded the ladies special train to CSMT on Wednesday morning to go to her office at CSMT, said Samadhan Pawar, deputy commissioner of police.

The police arrested Ruksana (face covered) who they believe is the mastermind of the mobile theft racket.

When the train was between Sandhurst Road and Masjid Bunder stations, she got a call. As the network was choppy, she went to the door of the train and stood on the footboard talking on her phone, the police said. As the train pulled out of Masjid Bunder, a young boy perched on a signal pole hit Singh on her hand to steal her phone. Singh lost her balance and fell out of the train, on to the parallel track.

GRP officials reached the spot and rushed Singh to the government-run JJ hospital. Later, she was moved to Bhatia hospital, a private facility, as her parents were not satisfied with the services there.

“Her right foot and left-hand fingers were severely crushed. If she had not been operated upon immediately, there was a grave danger of developing gangrene, so the doctors decided to perform a surgery to remove the crushed parts. Fortunately, she did not suffer a head injury or any major injuries anywhere else on her body,” said Dr Rajeev Budhankar, CEO of Bhatia hospital.

Dr Budhankar said the doctors are monitoring her closely and will decide soon if she needs another surgery. “She’s coping well psychologically, and her parents are relieved,” he added.

As there were no CCTV cameras in the vicinity, the police tapped into their informer network. On Thursday, the police received information that the accused had sold Singh’s phone to a woman named Ruksana, and picked both of them up from Sandhurst Road.

“Ruksana is the mastermind. She buys stolen mobile phones from minor boys and then sells them at a profit. We have arrested Ruksana, and are now investigating to figure out how long she has been running this racket,” Pawar said. “We have registered a complaint of attempt to murder and robbery against the minor.”