Mumbai: 32 thefts during Lalbaugcha Raja visarjan procession

A constable restraining the crowd during the Lalbaghcha Raja procession

Even as thousands of Mumbaikars thronged the roads to bid adieu to Lalbaugcha Raja during the immersion procession, thieves went about their business by flicking mobile phones and valuables, undeterred by the police deployment.

Police registered 32 cases against unidentified people for stealing mobile phones, jewellery, other valuables and wallets during the immersion procession in central Mumbai, an officer said on Wednesday. Police tactically deployed personnel en route the Lalbaugcha Raja's procession, he said. "As devotees were busy bidding farewell to Lord Ganesh, thieves stole mobile phones, gold ornaments, gadgets, bags, purses and wallets," the officer said.

He said several people had approached Kalachowkie police station to lodge complaints of theft, including valuables and cash. "There were 32 complaints lodged at the police station on a single day," he added. Police suspect the involvement of an organised gang of thieves, he said. Thousands of idols of Lord Ganesh were immersed in the Arabian Sea, ponds, and artificial lakes on the concluding day of the 11-day festival Tuesday.

Last year's record broken

Surpassing last year's tally, 2024 witnessed a surge in the number of household Ganesh idol immersions. As per the data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), 2.09 lakh idols, including 10,286 ‘sarvajanik (public) idols', were immersed in natural as well as artificial lakes, as compared to the last year when the tally stood at 2.05 lakh.

The number of immersions on the last day (Anant Chaturdashi) were, however, fewer compared to last year's figure. But, despite that, the overall figure of immersions remained high, mostly due to household idols. "We witnessed a slight increase on every immersion day. Last year, the number of household Ganesh idols immersed stood at 1.95 lakh. The BMC provided more artificial lakes this year, and almost 40 per cent of idols were immersed in an environmentally friendly manner," said a civic official.

The BMC provided 204 artificial lakes this year, the official added. Last year, it was 194. This newspaper earlier reported that as many as 37,064 idols were immersed on the last day of the festival on Tuesday in Mumbai. This year, the number had already crossed 1.71 lakh after the seventh-day immersions, which took place on Friday.

The Ganesh idols from the sarvajanik mandals are usually immersed on the last day, i.e., Anant Chaturdashi. However, this year, more than 400 sarvajanik idols were immersed by the seventh day.