The Government Railway Police’s (GRP) probe into the death of a Goregaon resident, who lost his life on Monday while chasing a cell phone thief, ended in the arrest of identical twins who have been stealing cell phones since their teens.

Shakil Shaikh (53), a chauffer with the Taj Group of Hotels, was on his way from Goregaon to Churchgate when the accused entered his train at Charni Road around 6.45 a.m. on Sunday and snatched his cell phone. He then jumped off the train, which was already moving, and Shaikh followed him, losing his balance in the process and falling through the gap between the train and the platform.

Shaikh was run over by the same train and he was rushed to the GT Hospital near Crawford Market, where he was declared dead before admission.

Following the incident, the Churchgate GRP registered an offence and scanned Closed Circuit Television camera footage of the Charni Road station, in which the accused was spotted. The police then shared the footage with all units under the GRP commissionerate and senior police inspector Vilas Choughule, Bandra GRP, identified the accused as Shivam Singh (20) with the help of local informants.

“Shivam is a resident of Nallasopara and a habitual offender with a history of cell phone theft. During his interrogation, he told us that his identical twin, Satyam, was also involved in the theft, so we picked him up too. Both the brothers were arrested and charged with robbery and causing death due to negligence under the Indian Penal Code,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Western Railway) Purushottam Karad said.

Mr. Karad said both the accused have been committing cell phone thefts since they were minors and have been booked several times as juvenile offenders.

In the last two years, since they turned 18 and could be tried as adults, Shivam has been arrested four times while Satyam has been arrested once.

Officials said that by the brothers’ own admission, their father, too, has a criminal record and is currently serving a 10-year jail sentence in the Kolhapur Central Jail after being arrested by the Worli police in a case registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Mr. Karad said, “We have also traced and arrested Firoza Khan (40), to whom the accused sold the cell phone after stealing it. She has been charged with dishonestly receiving stolen property under the Indian Penal Code.”