BENGALURU: In a scene reminiscent of the award winning Tamil movie ‘Kaaka Muttai,’ which shows underprivileged children using sticks to snatch mobiles from passengers standing near the doors of train coaches, passengers on board the Bengaluru-Dharmapuri Passenger are being targeted in a similar way of late. Earlier this week, four passengers had to lose their smart phones, thanks to the unusual form of crime.
The train generally remains jampacked with over 1,500 passengers on board, mostly tired and returning from work. Those who stand near the doors to while away time by listening to songs or watching something on their phones are targeted.
The train numbered 76553 leaves the City station at 6.30 pm and reaches Dharmapuri at 9.40 pm. “Due to the need to give way for crossing trains, it was being moved to a track at Baiyapannahalli railway station around 7.20 pm on Wednesday. On one side of the tracks stood a group of boys. As the train approached them, they used sticks to hit the hands of those holding mobile phones quite hard and immediately ran away with the phones that had fallen,” T K Ramesh, Logistics Manager with a private firm, who was returning to Hosur from the City on Wednesday told Express.
Passengers could not do anything as the train was moving. Asked if any complaint was registered by any of the passengers at the nearest station, the Manager replied in the negative.
Stating that it was the first time he was witnessing such an attack directly, Ramesh said he had only heard of such incidents taking place.“A similar attack took place in the same train the previous day (Tuesday) too and one mobile was lost,” he added.Sanjeev V Dyamannavar, who is at the forefront of issues pertaining to Rail passengers, says, “I have heard of such incidents in the Bangalore City to Nayandahalli and the Hebbal to Banaswadi sections.”