After Kalachowki police reported a spate of missing phone cases, Agripada police station has now registered four FIRs detailing the theft of 70 mobile phones worth Rs 12.23 lakh during the September 6 immersion procession of Lalbaugcha Raja.

Devotees, many of them youngsters, had their phones snatched while wading through the sea of people near Hindustani Masjid on N.M. Joshi Marg, in Byculla, between 9 pm and 11 pm. Despite keeping the devices zipped inside pockets or bags, professional gangs struck with precision in the dense crowd.