Thief run over by train while escaping with Rs 50,000 stolen phone

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A thief who stole a man's phone worth Rs 50,000 from a local train was run over by a train coming from the opposite direction near Cotton Green railway station. According to a report in The Times of India, when the owner of the phone tried calling his phone number to track his phone, the call was attended by a constable who told him that it was recovered from a dead body lying on the tracks.

The incident happened on Tuesday when the owner of the phone, Chirag Gupta (36), a resident of Ghatkopar, was on his way home from work after boarding a CSMT-bound train from Vashi station at around 5.20 pm. When he dozed off, the thief cut through his trouser's pocket and tried to escape by jumping from the train, only to be knocked down by a train coming from the opposite direction.

When Gupta woke up at around 5.53 pm, the train was reaching Sewri. He saw his trouser pocket was torn and his phone was missing after which he suspected that it was stolen between Vashi and Wadala stations. He then approached the Wadala GRP, who filed an FIR in the case. When Gupta called on his phone number to trace his phone, it was attended by a constable, who was patrolling at Cotton Green, who told him the phone was found on a dead body.

The constable reported the accident to the stationmaster where the thief sustained grievous injuries. They rushed him to JJ Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. He found a wallet on the body that had a piece of paper with some phone numbers scribbled it. The constable then called his friends, who identified him as Arif Shaikh (22) hailing from Jharkhand. As some phone number scribbled on the paper was found to belong to cops, the police is trying to ascertain if he is an informant. The GRP will charge Shaikh for stealing but the case will be closed as he has died.

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