Mumbai: Pickpockets strike crowd outside Sanjay Dutt's home

Pickpockets had a field day outside Sanjay Dutt's residence at Pali Hill yesterday, where a huge crowd of fans and media persons had gathered to catch a glimpse of the actor and hear him speak. At least 20 mobile phones were stolen there, and one thief was caught red-handed by the police.

As Dutt appeared, journalists and fans alike tried to get closer to him, and in the chaos, at least 20 phones were stolen. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

"Journalists from every media house were present at the spot. Even international media was there. There were huge numbers of fans as well. The cops were not prepared," said a scribe.

Another reporter said, "As Dutt appeared, all cameramen, photographers and journalists stormed to take his interview. On top of that, his fans to tried to get closer too, and the police were not able to cope. Proper bandobast was not done by the cops. We were busy covering the event and only realised later that several of our phones were missing."

When they told the police about this, the cops zeroed in on one person, from whom they recovered two phones. "The accused was well dressed and one would not have doubted him. Later, several of us went to Khar police station to file a complaint," said a witness.

Crooks have been known to cash in on such crowd pulling events like this, most recently during Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's visit to the city. A police officer said, "We have detained a few people in the matter and registered a case."