Serial thief nabbed with stolen gold

Dombivli: A seasoned female thief responsible for a string of thefts targeting women commuters on Mumbai’s suburban railway network has been arrested by the Dombivli Railway Police. The accused, identified as Vaishali Sachdev (25), was caught red-handed with stolen goods including gold ornaments, mobile phones, and cash. Police confirmed that she has multiple criminal cases registered against her across several stations.

The arrest was made on Wednesday evening after Sachdev attempted to flee from a ladies’ compartment of the Asangaon-bound local train at Dombivli station. Alert fellow commuters, who had just realized their belongings were missing, raised an alarm. Spotting her suspicious behavior and attempting to deboard hastily, passengers confronted her. She was quickly apprehended with the help of railway police officers present on the platform.

Senior Railway Police Inspector Kiran Undare revealed that Sachdev is a repeat offender with at least 10 cases registered against her at different police stations. "She has a deceptive appearance and would often pose as a regular commuter in women’s compartments. Once inside, she would engage women in casual conversation and take advantage of the crowd to snatch wallets, gold ornaments, and phones," he said.

Over the past few months, a surge in thefts reported by women passengers at Kalyan, Dombivli, Titwala, Asangaon, and Thane stations had baffled police. The thefts followed a similar pattern, raising suspicions about a common perpetrator. Dombivli Railway Police launched surveillance operations and laid traps to nab the suspect.

Upon her arrest, police recovered an Apple iPhone valued at Rs. 70,000, cash amounting to Rs. 5,100, and 13 stolen mobile phones from her possession. The recovered goods are being returned to the rightful owners, and further investigation is underway to trace the rest of her network, if any.