A man lost his foot after falling from a moving local train during a mobile phone snatching incident in Maharashtra’s Thane district on Monday, said officials.
The incident occurred between Shahad and Ambivali stations on the Central Railway line, they said, adding that the victim, Gaurav Nikam, was sitting at the train’s door when the thief grabbed his phone.
“Someone pulled my hand and snatched the phone, and I fell," Nikam said. He attempted to cling to the door but lost his grip and fell onto the tracks, reported.
“I was clinging to the door. Then I fell here," he added.
Visuals from the scene showed both legs injured, with one foot crushed. Nikam is currently receiving treatment at a hospital.
The Kalyan unit of the Government Railway Police (GRP) has launched an investigation and is searching for the accused.
Mobile phone theft remains one of the most frequent crimes on Mumbai’s railway network, often linked to drug users and organised interstate gangs.
GRP data shows over 26,000 phones were stolen between January 2023 and May 2025.
The number dipped by nearly 10 per cent from 12,159 cases in 2023 to 10,891 in 2024.
As of May 2025, 3,508 thefts have been reported on the suburban network.
Mumbai’s overcrowded suburban trains, considered the city’s lifeline, continue to face serious safety challenges. During a PIL hearing last year, the Bombay High Court remarked it was “ashamed" that passengers were forced to travel “like cattle" on these trains.
Source: News18