The Government Railway Police (GRP) in Mumbai have stepped up patrolling and taken new steps to stop crimes on trains. This comes after two serious thefts occurred on long-distance trains in the city in a week.
Each long-distance train will now have two railway police officers onboard. These officers will monitor the entire train and protect passengers until the train reaches the boundary of the railway police commissionerate.
Data from the GRP shows that in 2022, around 12,000 theft cases were reported, including mobile thefts. In 2024 alone, 11,143 mobile phones were stolen from railway areas. This brings the monthly average of phone thefts to more than 928. From January to May this year, 3,576 phones were stolen, averaging over 715 per month.
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In response to the situation, the GRP has taken several steps to increase safety and reduce crime on trains:
1. Special campaign against mobile theft was started, Under which, each railway police station has created a team in its crime detection unit. These teams will work to stop thefts and recover stolen phones.
2. A separate drive is also being run to trace mobile phones that have been stolen in the past five years. As per reports, many mobile thefts happen when people are boarding trains or using phones carelessly during the journey. Thieves often use the large crowds at train doors to steal phones.
3. Sources suggest that most common crimes on railway premises are thefts of phones, laptops, bags, and incidents of molestation. To reduce these crimes, four police officers have been posted in every local train, including inside the women’s compartments.
Recent theft incidents:
On June 1, a family from Jogeshwari was attacked on the Jaipur-Bandra Terminus Superfast Express. The incident happened after the train passed Borivali. The robbers had knives and stole a trolley bag. The bag contained INR 7 lakh in cash and other valuables.
On June 5, another theft took place on the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Nanded Special train. The train was moving between Bhandup and Kanjurmarg. A doctor from Panvel named Dipali Deshmukh was targeted. A thief tried to snatch her purse and pulled her toward the door. Her husband, Dr. Yogesh Deshmukh, followed and tried to help. The thief jumped from the moving train and pulled both of them down. Dr. Yogesh was badly hurt and had to get his left arm amputated.
Interestingly, there is a shortage of staff in the RPF. Currently, 758 posts are vacant. Of these, 16% are staff positions, and 25% are officer posts. He said that the process to fill these positions will begin soon.
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