Most thieves are known to run. This one lies down.
The Government Railway Police in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura station received several theft complaints from passengers over the past few days. Some passengers found their phones missing, some complained that they lost other valuable items.
Determined to get to the bottom of this, the station's GRP in-charge Sandeep Tomar started scanning CCTV footage from the many cameras on the station premises. What he saw evoked surprise and awe in equal measure.
The camera inside the passengers' waiting room showed some sleeping passengers. The footage does not stand out till one of them moves. The man looks around, apparently to check if someone's watching. Someone stretches legs. The man waits. Then, it's all clear. The man turns to his right, moves his right hand to the pocket of a sleeping passenger, his eyes constantly watching for any sign of trouble. There are multiple tries as he tries to fish out the cellphone peeking out of the pocket, and he finally succeeds.
One target achieved, the man moves to the next one. He shifts his position to lie down right next to another passenger. He looks around to make sure he is not being watched. Then, lying on his left, he goes for the passenger's pocket and pulls a phone out. He then gets up and leaves the waiting room with his loot.
The culprit identified, railway police did not waste time in catching him. Twenty-one-year-old Avnish Singh, a resident of Etah district, was arrested yesterday. A mobile phone was recovered from him, and police said he has admitted to stealing five phones. Avnish now faces a case of theft and police are working to recover the stolen items.
Woman Electrocuted, 3 Injured While Working In Field In UP's Mathura: Cops 36 Hospitalised In UP's Mathura After Having Food Made Of Buckwheat Flour: Cops Man,22, Beaten, Burnt Alive By In-Laws In UP's Mathura: Police 150 mg Semen In Kolkata Doctor's Body, Suspect Gang-Rape: Parents To Court 2 French Rafale Jets Collide Mid-Air, Instructor, Pilot Missing "Attempt To Save Accused Instead Of...": Rahul Gandhi On Doctor Rape-Murder G20 Nations Couldn't Do, India Did, Met Paris Accord Target Before Time: PM "Targeted Violence Against Hindus...": Vivek Ramaswamy On Bangladesh Unrest Probe Reveals Brazil Plane Crashed One Minute After Pilots Sensed Trouble Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.