Police report sharp rise in theft of bus travellers' laptops; co-passengers replace laptop bags with ones filled with trash

Between Mumbai and city, laptops turn into trash

Police report sharp rise in theft of bus travellers' laptops; co-passengers replace laptop bags with ones filled with trash

For Mumbai resident Mohan Kumar Parmeshwar Chatraswamy, his trip to the city last month will remain unforgettable. And for all the wrong reasons.

The Lower Parel resident and manager of a public limited company in Mumbai who had come to the city on a short weekend trip was tricked out of his laptop by a fellow traveller at the bus stand.

His laptop bag, containing his expensive laptop that held official data, was replaced by a similar-looking bag containing trash.

u00a0Keep an eye on your laptop: Most laptops are stolen at bus stands
u00a0u00a0and at the food malls where buses halt midway through the journey.
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3 cases in 15 days
Burdened with a rising number of such cases, the police have warned travellers to beware of a gang of "sophisticated cheats" operating in state and private transport buses plying between Mumbai and the city.

"We receive many such complaints; three were registered in the past fortnight. The modus operandi of these thieves is quite similar, and that's why we have started suspecting a gang," said Constable Chandrakant More, who registers complaints at Pune Station police chowky. "Most of the cases happen at food malls
(on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway), followed by bus stands."

Police officials said most thefts at the food mall, where buses take a 10-15 minute halt, had happened when a passenger had gone to the toilet or to have snacks.

"These conmen buy tickets and get on the bus as co-passengers. They carry bags similar to laptop bags but which are filled with trash or some useless stuff. They mark people who carry laptop bags and take seats near them so they are able to keep their bags in the same overhead luggage rack as the passenger with the laptop," said a constable from the Council Hall police chowky.

The police said the laptop thieves will wait till their target alights at the food mall and then quickly replace his bag with theirs."They pass on the bag with the laptop to an accomplice at the food mall or get off much before the destination city," said More. "By the time the passenger takes his laptop bag and realises what has happened, the culprit has fled."

Officials from the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) were reluctant to admit that there was a flood of such cases, but agreed that incidents of the kind had been reported of late."I have received four to five such complaints. However, I want to say these thefts didn't happen at our depots but at the food malls.
u00a0
We are trying to trace the bags and if someone comes here to return them, we shall forward them to the owners," said Kailash Gormadikar, in-charge at Pune Station bus stand.

Shivaji Nagar bus depot manager S R Burande said that he was aware of such cases and that was why passengers were repeatedly asked to take care of their luggage.

"We have put up stickers in buses, ticket counters and even make announcements," said Burande. "I think people need to be vigilant as a limited staff cannot take care of all aspects.