Man steals wallet, pushes 44yrold outoftrain,held

Victim falls on platform; crowd nabs accused, who is wanted in at least 31 cases

MUMBAI: A 42-year-old man, accused of at least 31 cases of theft and robbery, was arrested late on Monday while allegedly pickpocketing a salesman and pushing him out of a local train to escape near Dadar railway station.

According to the Dadar government railway police (GRP), Sharad Dhaku Thotam, 44, boarded a Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (Csmt)-bound train from Thane around 09.30pm, to visit a relative in Dadar. “I was near the footboard as the train approached Dadar station when I felt a hand inside my back pocket. I realised almost immediately my wallet had been stolen,” said Thotam.

“I grabbed the collar of the man [Ibrahim Shaikh] whom I suspected had taken my wallet. He then pushed me from the train and jumped out,” added Thotam.

According to the police, Thotam fell on his face on the platform and injured his shoulder. “I would have been pushed on to the tracks if the incident happened a minute earlier,” said Thotam.

Thotamshoutedtoalertpeople on the platform as Shaikh tried to flee, the police said. “I was about to faint when I saw Shaikh had been caught by the people,” said Thotam. The crowd began beating Shaikh up when GRP constables intervened, the police said. “We took Shaikh and Thotam to the hospital as both had sustained injuries,” said Prasad Pandhare, senior police inspector, Dadar GRP.

According to the police, a stolen mobile phone and₹8,000 in three wallets, including Thotam’s, were recovered from Shaikh’s pockets. Of the 31 cases against Shaikh, 10 were at Andheri, four at Mumbra, three at Dadar, three in Navi Mumbai, three at Mankhurd, three at Kurla, two at Borivli, two at Bandra and one at Thane. According to Pandhare, Shaikh, a resident of Mankhurd, had been externed from Andheri for two years since this September. “Shaikh was wanted in several cases. We arrested Shaikh for robbery and presented him before court,” said Pandhare.