Railway police arrest three for stealing mobile phones in Vijayawada

The Government Railway Police (GRP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) on Monday arrested three persons for stealing mobile phones from the passengers.

The team, led by GRP Inspector J.V. Ramana and RPF Inspector Fateh Ali Baig, kept a vigil on mobile phone thefts in moving trains and on platforms, and arrested B. Rambabu, B. Naveen Kranthi and V. Prakash, of Vijayawada.

Police seized 45 mobile phones worth nearly ₹9 lakh from the accused, said Mr. Ramana. “The modus operandi of the accused involved stealing mobile phones that were left for charging or when the passengers were asleep,” Mr. Fateh Ali said.

They would get down from the train at the outer area of Vijayawada station to avoid the police. Later, the accused would sell the stolen phones at a meagre amount to other passengers and poor people saying that they were suffering from chronic health problems and in dire need of money, the GRP Inspector said.

The accused, Rambabu, who was arrested in similar a case earlier, would impersonate a GRP or RPF constable and promise to the return the phone when the owner would make a call. “Impersonating a constable, he will collect the Aadhar and other secret code numbers from the owner to open the mobile phone. Later, he would transfer money online, remove SIM card and sell the phone to someone else,” Mr. Fateh Ali explained.

The accused would be produced in the court, Mr. Ramana said.