Mumbai: Cop's phone worth ₹1.4 lakh snatched by bikers at Vanrai

A police inspector attached to the Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai Police fell victim to a mobile snatching incident, wherein he lost an iPhone 13 Pro Max worth ₹1.40 lakh when two bike-borne men snatched it from him in Goregaon (E). The policeman was in an autorickshaw when the incident occurred and despite trying to retaliate, the biker sped past him before he could nab them.

According to police, the incident occurred on April 12, when the policeman was in an auto-rickshaw with his family, on his way home from his previous residence at Kole Kalyan police colony in Kalina to his residence in Malad. When the family had reached the Western Express Highway (WEH) in Goregaon East after coming down from the JVLR Bridge at around 10.30 pm, there was bumper to bumper traffic on the northbound arm of WEH.

Since the traffic was slow-moving, the policeman had kept his phone in the pocket of a bag and was chatting with his family. Suddenly, a motorcycle came very close to the policeman's auto-rickshaw and tried to snatch the phone from the bag's pocket. While the cop immediately held the accused person's hand, the biker hit the policeman's arm, escaped from his clutches and sped away.

The policeman said in his complaint at Vanrai police station that he had an iPhone 13 Pro Max, which was stolen by two men on NS 200 motorcycle. Describing the accused, police said that the accused duo seemed to be in their mid-20s. While Vanrai police have registered a case of theft and common intention, a probe is underway to identify and nab the accused.

Police are also scrutinising the CCTV camera footage of the area and trying to track the phone via IMEI number.