Man held for ‘snatching woman’s bag, pushing her off moving train’

The accused, identified as Santosh Kekane, was arrested on Tuesday from a hotel in Kalyan, where he had allegedly been hiding since the police raided his house in Shahad. (Represesntational Image)

The railway police arrested a man on Tuesday for an alleged theft in the women’s compartment of a Vashi-bound local train. The victim, Rituja Bodake, had been pushed off the compartment after the accused allegedly snatched her bag, her gold jewelry and her mobile phone on December 3. Despite being pushed off the train, the victim sustained only minor injuries as the train had reduced its speed while entering Juinagar station.

The accused, identified as Santosh Kekane, was arrested on Tuesday from a hotel in Kalyan, where he had allegedly been hiding since the police raided his house in Shahad. “We had traced him using CCTV footage, and realised that he got into the ladies compartment from Mansarovar. We then checked how he reached the station, and CCTV footage showed that he had come in his friend’s car. We interrogated his friend, who gave us his address and other details,” said a senior officer.

However, when the police reached his house in Shahad, he managed to fight his way out and run away. “We recovered the victim’s bag from the house and started tracking the accused, who was on the run,” the officer said.
On December 12, the Vashi railway police raided a hotel in Kalyan, where the accused was staying at the time. “We nabbed him with the help of the hotel staff. He had been hiding, and had come to the hotel for some errand. It is not sure as to why he committed the act, but we will investigate and recover the other stolen items as well,” said Suresh Patil, senior police inspector, Vashi.