Over 100 mobile phone and gold chains were reported stolen to organised gangs of thieves during the grand immersion procession of Lalbaughcha Raja.
This year, lakhs of devotees had gathered for the grand immersion procession that began from Lalbaug and culminated at Girgaon Chowpatty after nearly 32 to 35 hours. The massive crowd created opportunities for criminals to strike unnoticed.
According to the Mumbai Police, long queues of aggrieved devotees were seen outside the Kalachowki police station to lodge complaints.
So far, 10 official cases have been registered, four stolen phones recovered, and four accused arrested, police said.
In addition, at least seven cases of gold chain snatching were recorded. Police have recovered two chains and detained 12 suspects in connection with these incidents.
According to police investigation, several gangs, active every year during Ganesh immersion processions, were behind the thefts.
The Kalachowkie police station has registered 20 FIRs alone since Saturday, September 6, after receiving complaints from devotees about valuables being stolen during the visarjan.
Meanwhile, Bhoiwada police also registered cases against individuals for illegally flying drones during the procession, which is prohibited for security reasons.
Despite heavy security deployment during Ganeshotsav, the scale of thefts has raised serious safety concerns.
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