From Mount Mary to Lalbaug, thieves make a killing in festival crowd

Vishal Mahato was found with as many as 51 mobiles in his possession; (right) Nadia, one of the arrested chain-snatchers who targeted visitors at the Bandra fair

As the festivities take over Mumbai, the city's famous Ganpati mandals and Bandra fair have become a pilgrimage spot not just for devotees, but also scores of pickpockets and chain-snatchers out to make a killing in the crowds. In just one week, the police have caught quite a few thieves who came all the way from Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand, and stole phones and gold chains from unsuspecting devotees.

There are few mandals that draw as many devotees - and thieves - as Lalbaugcha Raja in Parel. In the first four days of Ganeshotsav alone, as many as 135 cases of mobile theft were recorded there by the in Kalachowky police station.

A CCTV grab shows thief Nadia (in black) getting close to the victim (face blurred) to snatch her chain at the Mount Mary fair

Cops estimate the thieves got more light-fingered on the fifth day, which attracted even more devotees to the mandal, particularly since it was on Sunday. Cops have placed around 1,000 personnel and a network of CCTV cameras there to keep an eye out for pickpockets. Despite that, several thefts were reported in the queue leading to the darshan hall. "We witnessed a surge in cases over the weekend, when the number of devotees almost doubled," said a cop from Kalachowky police.

"Many devotees who lose their phones don't report the theft to us, so it's hard to get the real picture. Nevertheless, we are working day and night to avert any thefts," said another officer on bandobast duty.

However, Dr Ravindra Shisve, additional commissioner of police (Central region), denied this. "As far as Lalbaugcha Raja is concerned, thefts haven't surged. In fact, cases are in single digits so far. Surveillance is at its best in the pandal."

Call of booty
Meanwhile, the Kasturba Marg police arrested a 19-year-old boy from Jharkhand who had 51 stolen handsets with him. The accused, Vikas Mahato was arrested in Kurar, Malad East, with handsets ranging across Apple, Samsung, Redmi and Oppo.

Sources said that Mahato had come to Mumbai for the opportunity to make quick money during the festive season. Initially, he had targeted the Mount Mary festival in Bandra, but the crowds were thinner this year. So, he focused on Ganpati pandals instead. He confessed to stealing phones in Lalbaug, Gamdevi and Borivli.

"Mahato had come with some boys, and gave them a fixed cut for a set target of phones. Boys who stole steal more phones got a commission as well," said an officer. Mahato told the cops that he had planned to sell the phones in Assam and Bangladesh. Cops also suspect that he could be using the SIM cards to make tele-fraud calls. He will remain in police custody till Tuesday. Last year as well, the police had nabbed five people who had come from Varanasi with the target of stealing 100 phones per day at Lalbaugcha Raja.

Caught on CCTV
The Bandra police arrested three women chain-snatchers who allegedly came down from Chennai to rob people during the Mount Mary festival. Police say the three arrested accused only speak Tamil and they are being interrogated through an interpreter.

The trio, identified as Pandeshwari, 24; Radia, 37; and Nadia, 35; came under the police scanner after Bandra resident Sarta Billbert Koria, 41, registered an FIR about her stolen gold chain. She complained that she lost the 10-gm chain, worth Rs 30,000, at 9.15 am, while she was exiting the main gate of Mount Mary Church on Sunday.

A senior police officer said the trio also stole a 25-gm gold chain worth R75,000 from Helen George Fernandes, 75, just 30 minutes later. DCP Paramjit Singh Dahiya formed a team to investigate, and the trio was arrested within six hours. Cops scanned footage from 60 CCTV cameras and caught the trio in the act. "The accused surrounded Koria, and one of them snatched her gold chain. We recovered one of the stolen chains from their possession," said Girish Anavkar, senior inspector of Bandra police station.

They were staying with a relative at Fort. "We are contacting the local police in their hometown to find out whether they are absconding," said another officer.
Inputs by Samiullah Khan

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