Mobile phone thief mowed down by local train, accomplices escape

A person, allegedly a mobile phone thief, who was standing on a signal pole between Mahim and Bandra, to snatch mobiles from local train commuters, died last week when he was hit by a local train.

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The spot where the incident occurred. The stretch between Bandra and Mahim has become notorious for criminals who target commuters

Sohail Khan was hit by the train from which he planned to snatch phones. Khan was thrown on the sharp railings on the other side, and died on the spot. Such incidents are on the rise. The miscreants hit commuters with a rod and make their mobile phone or belongings fall down, grab the loot and escape.

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Such incidents are called ‘dropping cases' by the police. Cops said that such incidents have almost doubled this year (see box). The incident took place between Mahim and Bandra, notorious for such dropping cases.

Attempt gone wrong
According to police officials, Khan had climbed the signal pole towards Borivli and was waiting for the train to start travelling towards Churchgate. Two of his accomplices were waiting below on the tracks.

A slow local arrived from Bandra on platform number 2, and was moving towards Churchgate. The train was moving very slowly. The two accomplices thought that the motorman might have seen them and would inform the cops; they therefore decided to escape.

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Meanwhile the train got a green signal and picked up speed. Khan came down from the signal pole and tried to escape, but was mowed down by the train. He died on the spot.

The Bandra GRP registered an accidental death case; however, Khan's family members claimed it was a case of murder. The motorman came to the police station and gave a statement that Khan was hit.