Mumbai Crime: Fake Doctor Allegedly Drugs 45-Year-Old Woman On Shirdi Bus, Flees With Gold Jewellery

Mumbai, October 7, 2026: A 45-year-old woman was allegedly drugged and robbed of her gold jewellery by a fellow passenger who posed as a doctor during a Mumbai-Shirdi bus journey. The Mumbai police have registered a case against an unidentified suspect and launched a probe.

According to the FIR, the victim, Shobha Mahesh Phase, a resident of Sindhi Society in Chembur, was travelling to Kopargaon on October 1 for a medical follow-up. She boarded a Nehru Nagar-Shirdi bus from the Nehru Nagar bus stand in Kurla at around 12.45 pm.

As the bus was crowded, Phase took a seat near the rear. An unidentified man, believed to be around 35 years old, approached her and asked if anyone was going to occupy the seat next to her. After she replied in the negative, he sat beside her.

The man, who spoke in Hindi, allegedly told Phase that he was a doctor travelling to Nashik. During their conversation, he claimed that she had dark circles under her eyes and was suffering from acidity. He then allegedly checked her pulse and offered to give her tablets.

Woman Loses Consciousness

The suspect reportedly took out two tablets—one yellow and the other saffron-coloured—from his bag and handed them to her. At around 2.30 pm, after having lunch, Phase consumed the tablets. She told police that she subsequently fell unconscious and did not know what happened thereafter.

She regained consciousness the following day, October 2, at Kothari Hospital in Kopargaon, where she was undergoing treatment. Her brothers, Rajendra Khose and Santosh Khose, were present at the hospital and informed her that she had been found unconscious on the bus.

According to the police, the bus conductor noticed Phase in an unconscious state and contacted her family using her mobile phone. Her brothers subsequently took her from the Shirdi bus stand to the hospital at around 8.30 pm on October 1.

Gold Jewellery Stolen

After regaining consciousness, Phase realised that the unidentified man sitting beside her had allegedly deceived her by posing as a doctor and giving her sedative-laced tablets. Police said the suspect allegedly stole her 18-gram gold mangalsutra and a pair of gold earrings weighing around one gram after she became unconscious.

As the incident began after she boarded the bus in Mumbai, the case was transferred to Mumbai police for further investigation. Nehru Nagar police are investigating the case.

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Police Examine CCTV Footage

Police have questioned the bus driver and conductor and recorded their statements. CCTV footage from possible bus stops along the Mumbai-Nashik route is also being examined based on the description of the suspect. Police suspect that the accused may be a habitual offender who targets vulnerable passengers by posing as a doctor.

A case has been registered against the unidentified accused under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and efforts are underway to trace him, police said.

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