According to the 2007 crime statistics released by the Local Crime Branch (LCB) of GRP at Dadar, the total amount of personal property stolen from commuters has been estimated at Rs 3.80 crore. While theft of gold chains tops the list, the thieves, incidentally, are not only men, but also women whom commuters do not generally suspect.

The GRP claims that it is the rise in the number of commuters that has led to the massive number theft cases. Senior Police Inspector of GRP at LCB, Dadar, Dilip Gore said, “Commuters while constantly trying to find breathing space in the jam-packed compartments, become oblivious of their surroundings. The thieves, particularly the women whom people don’t suspect, snatch chains and slit purses to take out belongings.”

In 2007, a total of 372 cases of chain snatching, 746 of theft that includes chains and mobiles, 145 of bag lifting, 14 purse slitting, 25 pocket cutting and 403 pick pocketing were registered.

“Women gangs mostly snatch chains and men mobile phones. There has been a change in trend in the last 10 years. Earlier, wrist watches were snatched but as their cost has gone down, more and more mobiles are snatched now — Nokia mobiles top the list followed by Sony Ericskon,” said Gore.

According to the statistics, the most crime-prone railway station is Kurla followed by Borivali and Dadar. As many as 282 cases were registered at the Kurla railway police station followed by 271 in Borivali and 258 at Dadar (WR). From the total of 1958 cases registered in the railways, 1167 are from Central Railway and 792 from Western Railway. Palghar registered only 13 cases followed by Panvel with 18.

“We are giving more training to GRP men to detect crimes and to deal with the crowds at stations like Kurla,” added Gore.

In 2006, the amount estimated for stolen property was Rs 3.20 crore, with a total of 1896 cases registered. While Kurla station topped the list, Borivali followed.

According to the Gore, the recovery rate of property stolen and detected of crime have also improved. “We detected 1381 cases in 2007 as compared to 1352 in 2006,” he said adding that the officials have recovered Rs 1.40 crore.

Incidentally, no dacoity cases have been registered in the annual statistics. However, 38 robberies have taken place and four murders committed.